Structure of the Pakistan Army
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The structure of the Pakistan Army is based on two distinct themes: operational and administrative. Operationally the Pakistan Army is divided into nine corps and three corps-level formations with areas of responsibility (AOR) ranging from the mountainous regions of the north to the desert and coastal regions of the south. Administratively it is divided in several regiments (details below). The General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Army is located in Rawalpindi in Punjab province. It is planned to be moved to the capital city of Islamabad nearby.
Army headquarters and staff
The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), formerly called the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C of the Pakistan Army), is challenged with the responsibility of commanding the Pakistan Army. The COAS operates from army headquarters in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. The Principal Staff Officers (PSO's) assisting him in his duties at the lieutenant general level include:
The Military Operations and Intelligence Directorates function under the Chief of General Staff (CGS). A major reorganization in GHQ was done in September 2008 under General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, when two new PSO positions were introduced: the Inspector General Arms and the Inspector General Communications and IT, thus raising the number of PSO's to eight.
The headquarters function also includes the Judge Advocate General (JAG), and the Controller of Civilian Personnel, the Chief of the Corps of Engineers (E-in-C) who is also head of Military Engineering Service (MES), all of them also report to the Chief of the Army Staff.
Operational structure
Hierarchy
Corps
There are nine corps (each including an independent signals brigade) and three corps-level formations (Air Defence, Aviation and Strategic Forces).
Regional formations
In Pakistani military terminology, the regional commands are the temporary military formations that are structure based upon the conventional corps, and troop rotations are constant and varies based on the Pakistani war strategists' calculations. The regional commands are led by the three-star rank general officer whose staff includes numbers of general officers.
In past, the Eastern Command was organized at a corps-level conventional formation in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), consisting of the 9th Infantry Division, 14th Infantry Division, and 16th Infantry Division. These divisions are still active duty with their respected Regiments. To further support the Eastern Command, the 36th Adhoc Division and 39th Adhoc Division were commissioned to support the paramilitary units and police; and subsequently decommissioned after Eastern Command was de-activated.
To address the challenges and issues faced by the Cold Start strategy of Indian Army, the army formed regional commands to protect the North—South regions by establishing the first the Southern Command in 1999 and later the Northern Command in 2008. Other active regional formations includes the Army Strategic Forces Command and the Army Air Defence Command that serves as a platform of missile defense.
Regional formational commands
- Eastern Command (1960-1971)
- Northern Command (2008–Present)
- Southern Command (1999–Present)
- Army Strategic Forces Command (2002–Present)
- Army Air Defence Command (1999–Present)
- Army Cyber Command (2022–Present)
Administrative structure
The Pakistan Army is organised in two main ways, which are Arms and Services.
Regiments
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Regiment
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Administrative Services
- Pakistan Army Medical Corps
- Service Corps (ASC)
- Military Police (MP)
- Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME)
- Education (AEC)
- Remount Veterinary and Farms (RVFC)
- Ordnance (ORD)
- Military Intelligence (MI)