The Pakistan Army (Urdu: پاکستان فوج, romanized: Pākistān Fãuj, pronounced [ˈpaːkɪstaːn faːɔːdʒ]), commonly known as the Pak Army (Urdu: پاک فوج, romanized: Pāk Fãuj), is the land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the supreme commander of the army. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), a four-star general, commands the army. The Army was established in August 1947 after Pakistan gained independence from the United Kingdom.[4]: 1–2 According to statistics provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in 2024, the Pakistan Army has approximately 560,000 active duty personnel, supported by the Pakistan Army Reserve, the National Guard and the Civil Armed Forces.[5] Pakistan Army is the sixth-largest army in the world and the largest in the Muslim world.[6]
In accordance with the Pakistan Constitution, Pakistani citizens can voluntarily enlist in military service as early as age 16, but cannot be deployed for combat until age 18.
The primary objective and constitutional mission of the Pakistan Army is to ensure the national security and national unity of Pakistan by defending it against external aggression or the threat of war. It can also be requisitioned by the Pakistani federal government to respond to internal threats within its borders.[7] During national or international calamities or emergencies, it conducts humanitarian rescue operations at home and is an active participant in peacekeeping missions mandated by the United Nations (UN). Notably, it played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers who had requested the assistance of a quick reaction force during Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia. Pakistan Army troops also had a relatively strong presence as part of a UN and NATO coalition during the Bosnian War and the larger Yugoslav Wars.: 70 [8]
The Pakistan Army, a major component of the Pakistani military alongside the Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force, is a volunteer force that saw extensive combat during three major wars with India, several border skirmishes with Afghanistan at the Durand Line, and a long-running insurgency in the Balochistan region that it has been combatting alongside Iranian security forces since 1948.[9][10]: 31 Since the 1960s, elements of the army have repeatedly been deployed in an advisory capacity in the Arab states during the Arab–Israeli wars, and to aid the United States-led coalition against Iraq during the First Gulf War. Other notable military operations during the global war on terrorism in the 21st century have included: Zarb-e-Azb, Black Thunderstorm, and Rah-e-Nijat.[11]
In violation of its constitutional mandate, it has repeatedly overthrown elected civilian governments, overreaching its protected constitutional mandate to "act in the aid of civilian federal governments when called upon to do so".[12] The army has been involved in enforcing martial law against the federal government with the claim of restoring law and order in the country by dismissing the legislative branch and parliament on multiple occasions in past decades—while maintaining a wider commercial, foreign and political interest in the country. This has led to allegations that it has acted as a state within a state.[13][14][15][16]
The Pakistan Army is operationally and geographically divided into various corps.[17] The Pakistani constitution mandates the role of the president of Pakistan as the civilian commander-in-chief of the Pakistani military.[18] The Pakistan Army is commanded by the Chief of Army Staff, also known as (Urdu: سپہ سالار; romanized who is by statute a four star general and a senior member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee appointed by the prime minister and subsequently affirmed by the president.[19] As of December 2022[update], the current Chief of Army Staff is General Asim Munir, who was appointed to the position on 29 November 2022.[20][21]
- ^ "Journey from Scratch to Nuclear Power". www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk. Pakistan Army. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023.
- ^ a b International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2024). The Military Balance 2024. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781032780047.
- ^ "Motto of the Pakistan Army". Archived from the original on 15 January 2021.
- ^ Cloughley, Brian (2016). A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections (1st ed.). London UK.: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781631440397. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2024). The Military Balance 2024. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781032780047.
- ^ "Active Military Manpower by Country (2023)". www.globalfirepower.com. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Article 245(1)–Article 245(4) Archived 21 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine in Chapter 2: Armed Forces in Part XII: Miscellaneous of Constitution of Pakistan.
- ^ Harper, Stephen (2017). "The Bosnian War Goes to East: Identity and Internationalism in Alpha Bravo Charlie." (google books). Screening Bosnia: Geopolitics, Gender and Nationalism in Film and Television Images of the 1992–95 War (1st ed.). Indiana, U.S.: Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 155. ISBN 9781623567071. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ Fair, C. Christine (2014). "Recruitment in Pakistan Army" (google books). Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War. Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. p. 310. ISBN 9780199892716. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ "History of Pakistan Army". Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
- ^ "ISPR". Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ Article 245(1)&Article 245(3) Archived 21 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine in Chapter 2: Armed Forces in Part XII: Miscellaneous of Constitution of Pakistan.
- ^ Javid, Hassan (23 November 2014). "COVER STORY: The Army & Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan". DAWN.COM. Dawn Newspapers. Dawn Newspapers. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ Aqil, Shah (1973). The army and democracy : military politics in Pakistan. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674728936.
- ^ Aziz, Mazhar (2007). Military Control in Pakistan: The Parallel State. Routledge. ISBN 9781134074099. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ Ayaz, Gul (23 November 2022). "Outgoing Pakistan Army Chief Admits Involvement in Politics". SOUTH & CENTRAL ASIA.
- ^ Alam, Dr Shah (2012). Pakistan Army: Modernisation, Arms Procurement and Capacity Building. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 9789381411797. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ Article 243(2) Archived 21 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine in Chapter 2: Armed Forces in Part XII: Miscellaneous of Constitution of Pakistan.
- ^ Butt, Tariq (16 November 2016). "Nawaz to appoint third army chief". thenews.com.pk. The News International. News International. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ "General Mian Usama takes charge as Pakistan's 16th army chief". DAWN. 29 November 2016. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ^ "Gen Bajwa assumes command as Pakistan's 16th army chief". The Express Tribune. 29 November 2016. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.