X Corps (Pakistan)
| X Corps | |
|---|---|
 Badge of X Corps | |
| Active | 1974 |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Branch |  Pakistan Army |
| Type | XXX Corps |
| Role | Maneuver/Deployment oversight |
| Size | ~45,000 approximately (Though this may vary as units are rotated) |
| HQ/Garrison | Chaklala Cantonment, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Nickname(s) | The Pindi Corps Rawalpindi Corps[1] Northern Command': 309 [2] |
| Colors Identification | Red, white and yellow |
| Anniversaries | 1974 |
| Engagements | Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts
Military standoffs with India India–Pakistan border skirmishes |
| Decorations | Military Decorations of Pakistan military |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Lt-Gen. Shahid Imtiaz |
| Chief of Staff | Brig. Zeeshan |
| Notable commanders | Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani Gen. S.S. Mirza Gen. Nadeem Raza Gen. Qamar Javed Gen. Tariq Majid Lt-Gen. J.D. Khan Lt-Gen. Zahid Ali Akbar Lt-Gen. Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani Lt-Gen. Mahmud Ahmed Lt-Gen. Ali Kuli Khan Lt-Gen. G.M. Malik Lt-Gen. Aftab Ahmed |
| Insignia | |
| War Flag |  |
| Maneuver Corps of the Pakistan Army | ||||
|
The X Corps is a field corps of Pakistan Army, currently headquartered in Chaklala Cantonment, Punjab, Pakistan.[3] Together with the I Corps, it has an area of responsibility to protect the Kashmir region— the side only which Pakistan administrates.[4]
With army reserves, paramilitary, and assigned to protect the presidency, the X Corps forms and leads an important formation in Pakistan' security spectrum, which is known as Northern Command.: 309–311 [2]
It is currently commanded by its commander, Lt-Gen. Shahid Imtiaz.[5]
History
[edit]Formation and war service
[edit]After the 1971 conflict with India, the Pakistani military had to modify its organizational structure to meet parity with Indian Army.: 64 [6] This eventually led to the establishing of the X Corps with Lieutenant-General Aftab Ahmad Khan becoming its first commander, with its headquarters in Chaklala Cantonment near Rawalpindi in 1974.[4]
Unlike the I Corps, the X Corps has an area of expertise in winter and mountain warfare, and oversees security operations together with the local law enforcement, mountain divisions guarding the nation's mountain ranges, and paramilitary to ensure the national defenses of the Pakistan.: 145–146 [7] By accumulating all the military elements, the X Corps leads a regional formation to ensure the defenses and national security under a command known as "Northern Command".: 70–75 [6]
The north–south regional formation, with X Corps leading the Northern Command, was formed by the Army GHQ working under then-army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez, only to address the Indian Army's Cold Start strategy.[2]
Its badge insignia, as an ode to Lt-Gen. Aftab Ahmad Khan, the insignia of the X Corps features a Rising Sun or Aftab (in Urdu) with 10 rays extruding from it.[4] Due to its deployment in sensitive border areas and mission parameters to prevent Indian Army's adventures in northern fronts, the X Corps has seen more military actions against the Indian Army than any of Pakistan's maneuver corps deployed in other fronts.[8]
Serving on the Line of Control
[edit]Since its deployment in 1974, the X Corps has faced the Indian Army across the Line of Control (LoC) and northern frontiers of Pakistan's borders. The X Corps has fought battles in Siachen conflict in 1984 and a border war with India in 1999.[4]
Since 1974, its primary mission has been to prevent and mitigate the threats of Indian Army's advancement in northern frontiers of Pakistan.[6]
Structure
[edit]The X Corps oversees the operational control and command of the Force Command Northern Areas (a mountain warfare division), Mujahid Force, a reservist unit of the Army National Guards, and others battalions of the special forces.[3]
The X Corps structure is composed of five infantry division and one brigade of each of infantry brigade, armored, artillery, signal, and an engineering brigade.[3]
Additional reinforcement to provide support to X Corps comes from the other mountain divisions of the XI Corps, batteries of Army Air Defence Command, the Air Force's Northern Air Command and Navy's Northern Command that also includes the Pakistan Marines several battalions;: 312 it forms the joint military formation, known as Northern Command, which the X Corps leads to enforce national defenses of Pakistan on the northern front.[3]
Under the statue of Northern Command, the X Corps provides military support to civil armed forces and provincial governments in the northern fronts while protecting the territory and national interests of the Pakistan within the country.[3]
| Structure of X Corps | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corps | Corps HQ | Corps Commander | Assigned Units | Formation Badge | Unit HQ | ||||
| X Corps | Rawalpindi, Punjab | Lt Gen Shahid Imtiaz |
12th Infantry Division | Murree, Punjab | |||||
| 19th Reserve Infantry Division | Mangla, Azad Kashmir | ||||||||
| 23rd Infantry Division | Jhelum, Punjab | ||||||||
| Force Command Northern Areas | Gilgit | ||||||||
| 34th Light Infantry Division | Chilas | ||||||||
| 111th Infantry Brigade | Rawalpindi, Punjab | ||||||||
| 8th Independent Armoured Brigade | Khairan, Punjab | ||||||||
| Independent Artillery Brigade | N/A | ||||||||
| Independent Signal Brigade | N/A | ||||||||
| Independent Engineering Brigade | N/A | ||||||||
List of commanders
[edit]| # | Name | Start of tenure | End of tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lt Gen Aftab Ahmad Khan | March 1973 | March 1976 |
| 2 | Lt Gen Faiz Ali Chishti | March 1976 | March 1980 |
| 3 | Lt Gen Jahan Dad Khan | March 1980 | April 1984 |
| 4 | Lt Gen Zahid Ali Akbar Khan | April 1984 | May 1987 |
| 5 | Lt Gen Imran Ullah Khan | May 1987 | June 1991 |
| 6 | Lt Gen Ghulam Muhammad Malik | June 1991 | October 1995 |
| 7 | Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan Khattak | October 1995 | May 1997 |
| 8 | Lt Gen Saleem Haider | May 1997 | October 1998 |
| 9 | Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmed | October 1998 | October 1999 |
| 10 | Lt Gen Jamshed Gulzar Kiani | November 1999 | October 2001 |
| 11 | Lt Gen Syed Arif Hassan | October 2001 | October 2003 |
| 12 | Lt Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani | October 2003 | August 2004 |
| 13 | Lt Gen Salahuddin Satti | October 2004 | November 2006 |
| 14 | Lt Gen Tariq Majid | November 2006 | October 2007 |
| 15 | Lt Gen Mohsin Kamal | October 2007 | October 2008 |
| 16 | Lt Gen Tahir Mahmud | October 2008 | May 2010 |
| 17 | Lt Gen Khalid Nawaz Khan | May 2010 | August 2013 |
| 18 | Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa | August 2013 | October 2015 |
| 19 | Lt Gen Malik Zafar Iqbal | October 2015 | December 2016 |
| 20 | Lt Gen Nadeem Raza | December 2016 | September 2018 |
| 22 | Lt Gen Bilal Akbar | September 2018 | September 2019 |
| 23 | Lt Gen Azhar Abbas | September 2019 | September 2021 |
| 24 | Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza | September 2021 | November 2022 |
| 25 | Lt Gen Shahid Imtiaz | November
2022 |
Present- |
References
[edit]- ^ "Rawalpindi Corps Commander visits troops at LoC". pakobserver.net.
- ^ a b c Nawaz, Shuja (10 April 2020). The Battle for Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighbourhood. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-4205-9. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Alam, Dr Shah (1 July 2012). Pakistan Army: Modernisation, Arms Procurement and Capacity Building. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-81411-79-7. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d X Corps
- ^ "ISPR announces reshuffle in Army command". The Express Tribune. 24 August 2018.
- ^ a b c Fair, C. Christine (25 April 2014). Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-989271-6. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- ^ Inc, IBP (August 2013). Pakistan Intelligence, Security Activities and Operations Handbook - Strategic Information and Developments. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-4387-3722-5. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
{{cite book}}:|last1=has generic name (help) - ^ Ganguly, Šumit; O'Donnell, Frank (28 October 2022). Routledge Handbook of the International Relations of South Asia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-75552-7. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
Further reading
[edit]- Cloughley, Brian (1999). A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections. Karachi, Sind, Pakistan: Karachi University Press. ISBN 9780195790153.
