Pakistan Army Organization 2000

Command and Structure

by Shahram Khan

"If we don't come back tell them we have sacrificed our today for their tommorrow."

The High Command of Pakistan Army

The Chief of the Army Staff ( COAS ) commands the Pakistan Army. This post was formerly called the Commander in Chief (C in C). The COAS operates from army headquarters in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, which is the capital city of Pakistan. The COAS, Pakistan Army, has four assiting Lieutenant General level officers. These are : Chief of General Staff (CGS), who commands army intelligence and operations; the Quartermaster General (QMG); the Adjutant General (AG); the Master General of Ordinance (MGO); the Inspector General for Evaluation and Training (IGT&E); and the Military Secretary (MS). The General Headquarters also includes the Chief of the Corps of Engineers, the Judge Advocate General and the Controller of Civilian Personnel.

Structure of Pakistan Army Units

The Pakistan Army arms category includes infantry, artillery, armor, engineers and communications. The services category includes the ordinance corps, maintenance and repair corps, military police corps, education corps, mechanical and electrical engineering corps and the veterinary and farm corps.

A Corps consists of two or more divisions. It is commanded by a Lieutenant General.

Each division usually holds three Brigades including infantry, artillery, engineers and communications units in addition to logistics (supply and service) support to maintain independent action. A division is commanded by a Major-General. A division does not contain armour. Armour is attached to formations as the need arises.

A Brigade is under the command of a Brigadier General and consists of three or more Regiments of different units.

An independent brigade consists of an infantry unit, an armour unit and a logistics unit. This type of a brigade is not under the command of any division. Rather it comes under the direct command of a corps commander.

Each Regiment is commanded by a colonel. A Regiment comprises of four batteries each under the command of a major and comprising of individual subunits called companies.

Size and Organization

The Pakistan Army has nine corps, consisting of Twenty Infantry and Two Armoured Divisions. These formations are capable of strong offensive and defensive action. The Corps are stationed in the following cities:

    I Corps (Mangla)
    II Corps (Multan)
    IV Corps (Lahore)
    V Corps (Karachi)
    X Corps (Rawalpindi)
    XI Corps (Peshawar)
    XII Corps (Quetta)
    XXX Corps (Gujranwala)
    XXXI Corps (Bahawalpur)

There is also a Northern Area Command, which has its headquarters in Gilgit and is directly responsible to the General HeadQuarters. Pakistan Army's current strength is 565,000 personnel on active duty, and another 500,000 personnel in the Reserves.

Pakistan Army Rank Structure

Officers