X Corps (Pakistan)

X Corps
Active	1974 – present
Country	Pakistan
Allegiance	Pakistan Army
Branch	Active Duty
Type	Army Corps
Role	Combined arms formation; Tactical headquarters element
Size	Actual troops number is not known correctly, but there are estimated at least 90,000 troops
HQ/Command Control Headquarter	Rawalpindi, Punjab Province
Nickname(s)	X Corps; The Pindi Corps; Rawalpindi Corps[1]
Colors Identification	Red, White and yellow;
Engagements	Siachen conflict; Indo-Pakistani War of 1999; 1999 Pakistani coup d'état
Decorations	Military Decorations of Pakistan Military
Commanders
Corps Commander	Lt Gen Azhar Abbas
Notable; commanders	; Lt Gen Jahan Dad Khan; Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani; Gen Tariq Majid; Lt Gen Zahid Ali Akbar; Lt Gen Jamshed Gulzar Kiani; Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmed; Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan Khattak; Lt Gen Ghulam Muhammad Malik; Lt Gen Aftab Ahmad Khan ; Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa

The X Corps is a corps of the Pakistan Army, currently assigned in Rawalpindi, Punjab Province of Pakistan. It's one of two corps that are currently active in Kashmir. One of its most important brigades, the 111th Infantry Brigade in Rawalpindi, is assigned Presidential Guard duties along with ceremonial duties for foreign dignitaries arriving in Pakistan.The current commander of this corps is Lt Gen Azhar Abbas.[2]

History

The X Corps was raised in 1974 by Lt. General Aftab Ahmad Khan. Headquartered in Rawalpindi, it is responsible for operations in some areas of Kashmir.[3] Before that, all formations in Kashmir were controlled directly from GHQ. As an ode to Lt. General Aftab Ahmad Khan, the insignia of the X Corps features a Rising Sun or Aftab (in Urdu) with 10 rays extruding from it.

Serving on the Line of Control

In 1974, as today, the Indian and Pakistani forces face each other across the Line of Control (LoC), and there are often exchanges of fire, and sometime full-scale battles. Since 1974, the formation's primary occupation has been to protect Pakistani interests on the LoC.

Siachen conflict

In 1984, the Pakistan Army was involved in a major skirmish with the Indian Army in the northernmost part of the disputed region of Kashmir. Under the command of Lt Gen Zahid Ali Akbar Khan, the X Corps was put into action on the highest battlefield in the world.

Kargil War

In 1999, under the command of Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmed, the conflict over Kargil saw the corps enter action, in Kargil itself, and all along the LoC. Over several weeks in June 1999, the entire corps was engaged for the first time in its history. During the fighting, Havildar Lalak Jan, a trooper of the corps would earn the Nishan-e-Haider.

List of corps commanders

#	Lieutenant-General	Name	Start of tenure	End of tenure
1		Aftab Ahmad Khan	March 1973	March 1976
2		Faiz Ali Chishti	March 1976	March 1980
3		Jahan Dad Khan	March 1980	April 1984
4		Zahid Ali Akbar Khan	April 1984	May 1987
5		Imran Ullah Khan	May 1987	June 1991
6		Ghulam Muhammad Malik	June 1991	October 1995
7		Ali Kuli Khan Khattak	October 1995	May 1997
8		Saleem Haider	May 1997	October 1998
9		Mahmud Ahmed	October 1998	October 1999
10		Jamshed Gulzar Kiani	November 1999	October 2001
11		Syed Arif Hassan	October 2001	October 2003
12		Ashfaq Parvez Kayani	October 2003	August 2004
13		Salahuddin Satti	October 2004	November 2006
14		Tariq Majid	November 2006	October 2007
15		Mohsin Kamal	October 2007	October 2008
16		Tahir Mahmud	October 2008	May 2010
17		Khalid Nawaz Khan	May 2010	August 2013
18		Qamar Javed Bajwa	August 2013	October 2015
19		Malik Zafar Iqbal	October 2015	December 2016
20		Nadeem Raza	December 2016	September 2018
22		Bilal Akbar	September 2018	September 2019
23		Azhar Abbas	September 2019	Present

Order of battle

The Corps HQ is stationed in Rawalpindi, however its subordinate formations and units are mostly deployed in Kashmir.

HQ X Corps (Rawalpindi)
- 12th Infantry Division - Murree
- 23rd Infantry Division - Jhelum. One of the two divisions that conducted the First Battle of Swat ('Operation Rah-e-Haq') in upper Swat and Shangla districts from November 2007 to December 2008, but reverted to original location in December 2008 after 2008 Mumbai attacks.
- Force Command Northern Areas - Gilgit
- Special Security Division - Chilas
- 111 Independent Infantry Brigade - Rawalpindi. The 111th Infantry Brigade is used by the Army for Presidential guards, and ceremonial duties for foreign dignitaries in Islamabad.

- Independent Engineer Brigade
- Independent Signal Brigade

References

"Rawalpindi Corps Commander visits troops at LoC". pakobserver.net.
"ISPR announces reshuffle in Army command". The Express Tribune. 24 August 2018.
X Corps