The II Corps is a field corps of the Pakistan Army headquartered in Multan Cantonment, Punjab in Pakistan.[3] It is one the ten maneuver corps formations of the Pakistani military which has seen deployments against the Indian Army in 1971 towards east and the Afghan war to enforce national defenses in west of Pakistan.[4]
| II Corps | |
|---|---|
 Formation sign of II Corps, Multan | |
| Active | 1967[1] |
| 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 | Multan Cantonment, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Nickname(s) | Multan Corps[2] Army Reserves South[3] |
| Colors Identification | Red, white and black |
| Engagements | Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 |
| Decorations | Military Decorations of Pakistan Military |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Lt-Gen. Ahsan Gulrez |
| Chief of Staff | Brig. Usman Kiyani |
| Notable commanders | Gen. Jehangir Karamat Gen. Tikka Khan Gen. Zia-ul-Haq Gen. Rahimuddin Khan Lt-Gen. Hamid Gul |
The corps is currently commanded by Lieutenant-General Ahsan Gulrez.
History
edit
In 1967, the II Corps formation was raised and established with its initial headquarters in Multan Cantonment, Punjab in Pakistan.[5]
The II Corps was the third formation that was established by the Pakistan Army after the war with India in 1965 as a necessity of corps formations were being earnestly felt by the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi.[6] The military leadership at that time wanted more decentralization of the land units, therefore intermediates between divisions and the Army GHQ were to be created and it were more corps headquarters.[6]
War services and deployments
editThe II Corps saw its first field service under the command of Lt-Gen. Tikka Khan in 1971 against the approaching Indian Army.: 205 [7] Soon after its deployment, the controversy in military strategy started when the 18th Infantry Division was moved out II Corps' formation and deployed in ill-fated offensive towards the Ramgarh sector; which led to the disaster at the Battle of Longewala.: 205–207 [7] The Army GHQ, working under Gen. Yahya Khan, had taken the control of the 18th Infantry Division rather than the II Corps which contributed to its failure in its mission.: 205–207 [7]
The II Corps repelled a major attack mounted by the Indian Army towards the Umerkot; the 18th Infantry Division later returned to II Corps control from Ramgarh sector alongside the 33rd Infantry Division.[1]: 206 [8] In the final analysis of its performance in the war; while commended by many parties, would be controversial, since at no time was its most powerful formation, 1st Armored Division, committed to action.[9]
After the 1971, the II Corps has not seen military deployment, and as akin to I Corps (specialized in Forest warfare), it is well suited for Desert warfare.[3] The II Corps is also a Pakistan's land-based main strategic reserve, and has not seen overseas deployment under United Nations.[3]
The II Corps supported the national lines of defense in Western Pakistan in 2009 when it provided its infantry and mechanized divisions in support of the Operation Zalzala (lit. Earthquake) against the Uzbek militants in Western Pakistan.[10] The 14th Infantry Division eventually cleared the Uzbeks and other foreign fighters from the area, and brought back the area under the wrist of Government of Pakistan.[11] On December 26, 2008, the 14th Infantry Division was redeployed to the II Corps to strengthened the lines of defenses of Pakistan's eastern border with India.[12]
Structure
editThe II Corps is an integral in forming the Pakistan Army Reserves, and the other military units in supporting the II Corps are organized in formation known as the Army Reserves South.[3] The II Corps' order of battle (ORBAT) is followed as:[4]
| Structure of II Corps | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corps | Corps HQ | Corps Commander | Assigned Units | Unit HQ | |||||
| II Corps | Multan | Lt.Gen Ahsan Gulrez
|
1st Armoured Division | Multan | |||||
| 40th Infantry Division | Okara | ||||||||
| Independent Infantry Brigade | U/I Location | ||||||||
| Independent Armoured Brigade | U/I Location | ||||||||
| Independent Artillery Brigade | U/I Location | ||||||||
| Independent Signal Brigade | U/I Location | ||||||||
| Independent Engineering Brigade | U/I Location | ||||||||
List of corps commanders
edit| # | Name | Start of tenure | End of tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lt Gen Khwaja Wasiuddin | 1967 | September 1971 |
| 2 | Lt Gen Tikka Khan | September 1971 | March 1972 |
| 3 | Lt Gen Muhammad Shariff | March 1972 | 1975 |
| 4 | Lt Gen Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq | 1975 | March 1976 |
| 5 | Lt Gen Rahimuddin Khan | September 1978 | March 1984 |
| 6 | Lt Gen Raja Saroop Khan | March 1984 | March 1988 |
| 7 | Lt Gen Shamim Alam Khan | March 1988 | May 1989 |
| 8 | Lt Gen Hamid Gul | May 1989 | January 1992 |
| 9 | Lt Gen Jehangir Karamat | January 1992 | June 1994 |
| 10 | Lt Gen Mohammad Maqbool | June 1994 | January 1996 |
| 11 | Lt Gen Salahuddin Tirmizi | February 1996 | October 1998 |
| 12 | Lt Gen Yusaf Khan | October 1998 | August 2000 |
| 13 | Lt Gen Syed Mohammad Amjad | August 2000 | April 2002 |
| 14 | Lt Gen Shahid Siddiq Tirmizi | April 2002 | September 2003 |
| 15 | Lt Gen Mohammad Akram | September 2003 | October 2004 |
| 16 | Lt Gen Afzal Muzaffar | October 2004 | May 2005 |
| 17 | Lt Gen Syed Sabahat Hussain | May 2005 | April 2006 |
| 18 | Lt Gen Sikandar Afzal | April 2006 | November 2009 |
| 19 | Lt Gen Shafqat Ahmed | November 2009 | November 2012 |
| 20 | Lt Gen Abid Parvaiz | November 2012 | April 2015 |
| 21 | Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad | April 2015 | December 2016 |
| 22 | Lt Gen Sarfraz Sattar | December 2016 | September 2017 |
| 23 | Lt Gen Abdullah Dogar | September 2017 | September 2018 |
| 24 | Lt Gen Muhammad Naeem Ashraf | September 2018 | December 2020 |
| 25 | Lt Gen Waseem Ashraf | December 2020 | September 2021 |
| 26 | Lt Gen Chiragh Haider | September 2021 | October 2022 |
| 27 | Lt Gen Akhtar Nawaz | October 2022 | October 2024 |
| 28 | Lt Gen Ahsan Gulrez | October 2024 | Incumbent |
References
edit- ^ a b Riza, Shaukat (1977). The Pakistan Army (1966-71), by Maj Gen (Retd) Shaukat Riza. ISBN 9788185019611.
- ^ "Pakistan Army makes top level transfers and postings, several Corps Commanders reshuffled". timesofislamabad.com. 24 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Strategic Reserves of Pakistan" (pdf). Centre for Land Warfare Studies. 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ a b Global Security
- ^ Khan, Gul Hassan Khan (1993). Memoirs of Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan. Lahore: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-577447-4.
- ^ a b Basit, A. (1997). The breaking of Pakistan. Lahore: Liberty Pubsihers.
- ^ a b c Brian Cloughley- A History of the Pakistan Army, ISBN 0-19-579507-5 Page 205-207.
- ^ Brian Cloughley- A History of the Pakistan Army, ISBN 0-19-579507-5 Page 206.
- ^ Brian Cloughley- A History of the Pakistan Army, ISBN 0-19-579507-5, Page 200.
- ^ [1] Daily Times Article
- ^ "FATA Timeline 2017".
- ^ "Pakistan redeploying troops to Indian border - Yahoo! News". news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008.
Further reading
edit- Cloughley, Brian (1999). A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections. Karachi, Sind, Pakistan: Karachi University Press. ISBN 9780195790153.