PAKISTAN ARMY

PAKISTAN ARMY

Pakistan Army (Urdu: پاک فوج Pak Fauj (IPA: Pɑkʰ fɒ~ɔd͡ʒ); reporting name: PA) is the uniform service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. The Pakistan Army is a volunteer professional fighting force.According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) it has an active force of 725,000 personnel in April 2013.The Constitution of Pakistan contains a provision for conscription, but it has never been imposed.

The primary mandate and mission of the army is to "dedicated to the service of the nation."[4] Since establishment in 1947, the army (along with its inter–services: Navy, Marines and PAF) has been involved in four wars with neighboring India and several border skirmishes with Afghanistan. Since 1947, it has maintain strong presence, along with its inter-services, in the influential the Arab states during the past Arab-Israeli Wars, and aided the coalition in the first Gulf War. Recently, major joint-operations undertaken by the army include Operation Black Thunderstorm and Operation Rah-e-Nijat. Apart from conflicts, the army has been an active participant in UN missions and played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu of Somalia in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent.

Under the Article 243, the Constitution of Pakistan appoints the President of Pakistan as the civilian Commander-in-Chief. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), by statute a four-star general, is appointed by the President with the consultation and confirmation needed from the Prime Minister of Pakistan.The Chief of Army Staff is subordinate to the civilian Defence Minister and Secretary of Defence, and commands the army. Although it is currently commanded by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the highest ranking army officer in the army is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shameem Wynne.

THE MILITARY HISTORY OF PAKISTAN

The military history of Pakistan encompasses an immense panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2,000 years across areas constituting modern Pakistan, and the greater Indian subcontinent. The history of the modern-day military of Pakistan begins from post-1947, after Pakistan was created as a modern nation-state.

The military holds a significant place in the history of Pakistan, as the Pakistani Armed Forces have played, and still continue to play, a vital role in the Pakistani establishment and shaping of the country since its inception. Although Pakistan was founded as a democracy after its independence from the British Raj, the military has remained one of the country's most powerful institutions and has on occasion overthrown democratically elected civilian governments on the basis of mismanagement and corruption. Successive governments have made sure that the military was consulted before they took key decisions, especially when those decisions related to the Kashmir conflict and foreign policy. Political leaders of Pakistan's developing democracy know that the military has stepped into the political arena before at times of crisis through Coup d'état to establish military dictatorships, and could do so again.

The military was created in 1947 by division of the British Indian Army and was given units who had a long and cherished history during the British Raj such as the Khyber Rifles, and had seen intensive service in World War I and World War II. Many of the early leaders of the military had fought in both world wars.

The military draws on inspiration from the rich combat history that has occurred within the area of modern day Pakistani soil and uses example of sacrifice and perseverance to embolden troops, and has named medals of valor, nickname for combat divisions, and indigenous weapons; Such as the short-range ballistic missiles Ghaznavi, which is named in honour of Mahmud of Ghazna who founded the Ghaznavid Empire, and ruled from 997 to 1030.

Since the time of independence, the military has fought three major wars with India. It has also fought a limited conflict at Kargil with India after acquiring nuclear capabilities. In addition, there have been several minor border skirmishes with neighbouring Afghanistan. After the September 11 attacks, the military is engaged in a protracted low intensity conflict along Pakistan's western border with Afghanistan, with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, as well as those who support or provide shelter to them.

In addition, Pakistani troops have also participated in various foreign conflicts usually acting as United Nations peacekeepers. At present, Pakistan has the largest number of its personnel acting under the United Nations with the number standing at 10,173 as of 31 March 2007.

WAR OF 1947

Pakistan had its first taste of war almost immediately in the First Kashmir War where it sent its forces into Kashmir. Kashmir, had a Muslim majority population, but the choice of which country to join was given to the Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir he was not able to decided whether to join India or Pakistan. The newly created Pakistani Army was then sent in disguise to start a Muslim revolt along with Muslim troops from the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces. By late October, the overthrow of the maharaja seemed imminent. He sought military assistance from India, for which he sign an instrument of accession with India.[14] The Army was pushed back by the Indians but not before occupying the northwestern part of Kashmir (roughly 40% of Kashmir), which Pakistan still controls, the rest remaining under Indian control except for the portion ceded by Pakistan to China.

The WAR of 1971

The first democratic elections in Pakistan were held in 1970 with the Awami League winning with a substantial majority. However Yahya Khan banned the Awami League and declared martial law after talks on sharing power failed. Bhutto was famously heard saying "break the legs" if any member of [People's Party] attend the inaugural session at the National Assembly. Fearing on capitalization on West Pakistan, West-Pakistanis fears of East Pakistani separatist, and Bhutto demanded to form a coalition with Mujib. Both Mujib and Bhutto were agreed upon the coalition government, with Bhutto as President and Mujib as Prime minister. The Military government and General Yahya Khan was kept unaware of such of these developments. Both Bhutto and Mujib continued a political pressure on Khan's military government. Pressured by his own military government, General Yahya Khan postponed the inaugural session, and ordered to arrest Mujib and put Bhutto on house arrest. Military Police subsequently arrested Bhutto and put him on house arrest, and Mujib was sent to military court where his case was headed by Judge Advocate General Branch's Brigadier-General Rahimuddin Khan.

Faced with popular unrest and revolt in East-Pakistan, the Army and Navy clamped down through violence. The Military government of General Yahya Khan ordered Rear-Admiral Mohammad Shariff, Commander of Eastern Naval Command of the Pakistan Navy, and Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Nazi, Commander of the Eastern Military Command of Pakistan Army, to curb and liberate East Pakistan from the resistance. The navy and army crackdown and brutalities during the Operation Searchlight and Operation Barisal and the continued killings throughout the later months resulted in further resentment among the East Pakistanis of East Pakistan. With India assisting and funding the Mukti Bahini, war broke out between the separatist supporters in Bangladesh and Pakistan (Indo-Pakistani War of 1971). During the conflict, the coordination between the armed forces of Pakistan were ineffective and unsupported. On major decision, the army, navy, marines and air force were not taken on confidence. Each forces had led their own independent operations without notifying or taking on confidence the higher command.

The result was the Pakistan Armed Forces's surrender to the Indian forces upon which 93,000 Pakistan Armed Forces officials and 93,000 soldiers and officers became POWs, the largest since World War II. The official war between India and Pakistan ended in just a fortnight on December 16, 1971, with Pakistan losing East Pakistan, which became Bangladesh. The official Bangladesh Government claim puts the number of Bengali civilian fatalities at 3 million.

Recovery FROM 1971 WAR

The Military government was collapsed as a result of the war, and the control of the country was handed over to the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Bhutto became country's first Chief Martial Law Administrator as well as first Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Armed Forces. As becoming the leader of his country in January 1972, Bhutto made his move and started the nuclear deterrence programme under Munir Ahmad Khan and his adviser Abdus Salam. In July 1972, Bhutto proceeded the Shimla Agreement with Indira Gandhi of India, and brought back 93,000 Pakistan Armed Forces personnel and recognized East-Pakistan as Bangladesh.

As part of re-organizing the country, Bhutto first disbanded the "Commander-in-Chief" title in the Pakistan Armed Forces. He also decommissioned the Pakistan Marines as a unit of Pakistan Navy. Instead, Chiefs of Staff were appointed in the three branches and Bhutto appointed all 4 star officers as the Chief of Staff in the Pakistan Armed Forces. General Tikka Khan, infamous for his role in Bangladesh Liberation War, become the first Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army; Admiral Mohammad Shariff, as first 4-star admiral in the navy and as the first Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan Navy; and, Air Chief Marshal (General) Zulfiqar Ali Khan, as first 4-star air force general, and the first Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force. Because the coordination between the armed forces were unsupported and ineffective, in 1976, Bhutto also created the office of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee for maintaining the coordination between the armed forces. General Muhammad Shariff, a 4-star general, was made its first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Pakistan's defense spending rose by 200% during the Bhutto's democratic era but the military balance between India-Pakistan, which was at a rough parity during the 1960s was growing decisively in India's favor. Under Bhutto, the education system, foreign policy, and science policy was rapidly changed. Under Bhutto's government, the funding of science was exponentially increased; Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission's and Kahuta Research Laboratories's classified projects were launched under Bhutto. Bhutto also funded the classified military science and engineering projects, entrusted and led by Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar of the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers.

The United States once again became a major source for military hardware following the lifting of the arms embargo in 1975 but by then Pakistan had become heavily dependent on China as an arms supplier. Heavy spending on defense re-energized the Army, which had sunk to its lowest morale following the debacle of the 1971 war. The high defense expenditure took money from other development projects such as education, health care and housing.