Sunday, December 21, 2008

Political Power of the Army


Political Power of the Army

The Pakistani army has always played an integral part of the Pakistan government since its inception. It has virtually acted as a third party that has repeatedly seized power in the name of stabilizing Pakistan. General Ayub Khan came to power in 1956 due to political turmoil within the ruling party. The situation was so dire that the speaker of the National Assembly was beaten to death right in front of the assembly hall. Ayub Khan reluctantly agreed to take power as a favour to the nation. Later on, General Yahya Khan would assume power in 1969. After the 1971 war, democracy was restored only to be cut short in 1977 after a coup which saw the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the Pakistani Premier. General Zia ul-Haq ruled as a dictator virtually unopposed until his death in 1988. Despite the exit of the army from mainstream politics, the political muscle of the military is everpresent. The former President, General (ret) Pervez Musharraf, came to power in a bloodless coup in October 1999 overthrowing the last democratically elected government led by Nawaz Sharif.



[edit] Fauji Foundation


Fauji Foundation (established in 1954) is a charitable trust, operating on a completely self sustaining basis, channeling approximately 80% of the profits from commercial ventures into social protection programmes that serve a beneficiary population representing approximately 7% of the country’s population. [6]


Spending more than Rs. 21 billion since inception on welfare, the Foundation provides services in the areas of healthcare, education, educational stipends, technical and vocational training.



  • Over 2.1 million patients treated per year through the FF Healthcare System
  • Approximately 38,000 students enrolled in the FF Education System
  • Approximately 70,000 educational stipends dispersed each year
  • Over 6,000 individuals trained annually through the Vocational & Technical Training Centres

Considered the most sustainable social protection mechanism in the country, Fauji Foundation provides welfare services to approximately 10 million individuals on a completely sustainable basis. Running autonomously for over 50 years, the foundation has been providing healthcare, education, vocational and technical training to over 7% of the country’s population through 294 welfare projects. [7]



[edit] Personnel Training



[edit] Enlisted ranks


Most enlisted personnel used to come from rural families, and many have only rudimentary literacy skills, but with the increase in the litracy level the requirements have been raised to Matriculate level (10th Grade). Recruits are processed gradually through a paternalistically run regimental training center, taught the official language, Urdu, if necessary, and given a period of elementary education before their military training actually starts.


In the thirty-six-week training period, they develop an attachment to the regiment they will remain with through much of their careers and begin to develop a sense of being a Pakistani rather than primarily a member of a tribe or a village. Enlisted men usually serve for eighteen years, during which they participate in regular training cycles and have the opportunity to take academic courses to help them advance.



[edit] Officer Ranks


About 320 men enter the army bi-annually through the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul in Abbottabad in the North West Frontier Province; a small number--especially physicians and technical specialists--are directly recruited, and these persons are part of the heart of the officer corps. The product of a highly competitive selection process, members of the officer corps have completed twelve years of education and spend two years at the Pakistan Military Academy, with their time divided about equally between military training and academic work to bring them up to a baccalaureate education level, which includes English-language skills.


The army has twelve other training establishments, including schools concentrating on specific skills such as infantry, artillery, intelligence, or mountain warfare. A National University of Science and Technology (NUST) has been established which has absorbed the existing colleges of engineering, signals, electrical engineering and medicine. At the apex of the army training system is the Command and Staff College at Quetta, one of the few institutions inherited from the colonial period. The college offers a ten-month course in tactics, staff duties, administration, and command functions through the division level. Students from foreign countries, including the United States, have attended the school but reportedly have been critical of its narrow focus and failure to encourage speculative thinking or to give adequate attention to less glamorous subjects, such as logistics.


The senior training institution for all service branches is the National Defence University. Originally established in 1971 at Rawalpindi, to provide training in higher military strategy for senior officers, the school house was relocated to Islamabad in 1995. It also offers courses that allow civilians to explore the broader aspects of national security. In a program begun in the 1980s to upgrade the intellectual standards of the officer corps and increase awareness of the wider world, a small group of officers, has been detailed to academic training, achieving master's degrees and even doctorates at universities in Pakistan and abroad.


Pakistani officers were sent abroad during the 1950s and into the 1960s for training in Britain and other Commonwealth countries, and especially to the United States, where trainees numbering well in the hundreds attended a full range of institutions ranging from armored and infantry schools to the higher staff and command institutions. After 1961 this training was coordinated under the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, but numbers varied along with vicissitudes in the United States-Pakistan military relationship. Of some 200 officers being sent abroad annually in the 1980s, over two-thirds went to the United States, but the cessation of United States aid in 1990 entailed suspension of the IMET program. In 1994 virtually all foreign training was in Commonwealth countries. However, after the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan again has begun sending officers to US Army schools. Today there are more than 400 officers serving in foreign countries.


Officers retire between the ages of fifty-two and sixty, depending on their rank.



[edit] Relief Operations and Economic Development





Pakistani Soldiers carry tents away from an American Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter October 19, 2005

In times of natural disaster, such as the great floods of 1992 or the October 2005 devastating earthquake, army engineers, medical and logistics personnel, and the armed forces played a major role in bringing relief and supplies.


The army also engaged in extensive economic activities. Most of these enterprises, such as stud and dairy farms, were for the army's own use, but others performed functions beneficial to the local civilian economy. Army factories produced such goods as sugar, fertilizer, and brass castings and sold them to civilian consumers.


Several army organizations performed functions that were important to the civilian sector across the country. For example, the National Logistics Cell was responsible for trucking food and other goods across the country; the Frontier Works Organization built the Karakoram Highway to China; and the Special Communication Organization maintained communications networks in remote parts of Pakistan. Pakistan Army is involved in relief activities not only in Pakistan but also in many other countries of the world, like they went for relief activities after Bangladesh was recently hit by floods. Pak Army also went to Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka after they were hit by tsunami. Pakistan army and Navy sent ships and helicopters to the friendly nations for tsunami relief operation.



[edit] Women and Minorities in the Army


Women have served in the Pakistani Army since its foundation. Currently, there is a sizable number of Women serving in the army. Most women are recruited in the regular Army to perform medical and educational work. There is also a Women's Guard section of Pakistan's National Guard where women are trained in nursing, welfare and clerical work and there are also women recruited in very limited numbers for the Janbaz Force. Only recently has Pakistan began to recruit women for combat positions and the Elite Anti-Terrorist Force In 2007, several female graduates were nominated to be Sky Marshalls for Pakistan based airlines.[8] In addition recently eight of the 41 cadets from the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul became the first women guards of honour.[9] Pakistan is the only country in the Islamic world to have women Major Generals in the Army.[10]


Recruitment is nationwide and the army attempts to maintain an ethnic balance but most enlisted recruits, as in British times, come from a few districts in northern Punjab Province and the adjacent Azad Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province. Pakistan's Officer Corps are also mostly from Punjab and the North West Frontier Province and of middle-class, rural backgrounds.


Minorities in Pakistan are allowed to sit in all examinations, including the one conducted by Inter Services Selection Board however the proportion of religious minorities in the Pakistan army is still considerably very less. The army sees itself as a national institution and thus many non-Muslim officers (including Qadiyanis) have achieved high ranks within the army.[11]



[edit] Rank Structure and Uniform Insignia















































Pakistani Officer Ranks
RankField Marshal (5-Star)COAS (4-Star)General (4-Star)Lieutenant General (3-Star)Major General (2-Star)Brigadier (1-Star)ColonelLieutenant ColonelMajorCaptainLieutenant2nd Lieutenant
NATO equivalentOF-11OF-10OF-9OF-8OF-7OF-6OF-5OF-4OF-3OF-2OF-1OF-1
Uniform insignia


[edit] Awards for Valor


The Nishan-e-Haider (Urdu: نشان حیدر) (Sign of the Lion), is the highest military award given by Pakistan.


Recipients Nishan-e-Haider recipients receive an honorary title as a sign of respect: Shaheed meaning martyr for deceased recipients.



  1. Captain Muhammad Sarwar Shaheed (1910–July 27, 1948)
  2. Major Tufail Muhammad Shaheed (1914–August 7, 1958)
  3. Major Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed (1928–September 10, 1965)
  4. Major Muhammad Akram Shaheed (1938–1971)
  5. Major Shabbir Sharif Shaheed (1943–December 6, 1971)
  6. Jawan Sowar Muhammad Hussain Shaheed (1949–December 10, 1971)
  7. Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz Shaheed (1944–December 17, 1971)
  8. Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed (1970–July 5, 1999)
  9. Lalak Jan Shaheed (1967–July 7, 1999)
  10. Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed (Day of martyrdom : 21st August 1971)

Two Pakistani pilots belonging to the army aviation branch of Pakistan army who carried out a daring rescue of a mountaineer are to be given Slovenia's top award for bravery. Slovenian, Tomaz Humar got stranded on the western end of the 8,125m Nanga Parbat mountain were he remained for around a week on top of the world's ninth-highest peak. The helicopter pilots plucked the 38-year-old from an icy ledge 6,000m up the peak known as "killer mountain".


The Slovenian president has presented Lt Col Rashid Ullah Beg and Lt Col Khalid Amir Rana with the Golden Order for Services in the country's capital, Ljubljana, "for risking their lives during the rescue mission", a Pakistan army statement said.[12]



[edit] Special Forces




Main article: Special Services Group




Chinese Special Forces training alongside Pakistani SSG

Special Service Group (SSG) is an independent commando division of the Pakistan Army. It is an elite special operations force similar to the United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and the British Army's SAS.


Official numbers are put at 2,100 men, in 3 Battalions; however the actual strength is classified.[13] It is estimated to have been increased to 4 Battalions, with the eventual formation of 2 Brigades of Special Forces (6 Battalions).



[edit] Weapons and Equipment



[edit] Small Arms


The light weapons include:





Al Khalid MBT




M109 SP Howitzer




The M198 Howitzer




The M59 Howitzer
























































































































































































Pakistan Army Inventory
Vehicle/System/AircraftFirm Number in ServiceStatus
Al Khalid Main Battle Tank600In Service, Under production. 600 planned
Type 85IIAP Main Battle Tank500In Service. Being phased out
Al-Zarar Tank Main Battle Tank500Currently under production
Type 79IIAP (Chinese T-81 Upgrade)450Being phased out by Al Khalid
T-80UD Main Battle Tank320 + 250Delivered by Ukraine between 1997 and early 2002. 250 more were ordered in early 2002.[14][15][16]
Type 59880Being phased out by Al Zarrar & Al Khalid II
Hamza Infantry Fighting Vehicle ???Being procured
Al-Fahd Infantry fighting vehicle140In Service
Talha Armoured Personnel Carrier400+Final number to be around 2,000
Sa'ad Armoured Personnel Carrier ???Currently in production
M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier1500+In Service
BTR-70 Armoured Personnel Carrier169In Service
Mohafiz Light Armoured Personnel Carrier ???In Service & Additional APCs being procured
Scorpion Light Jeep260In Service
Al Qaswa Logistical Vehicle ??Being procured
M88 ARV Armoured Recovery Vehicle ???In Service
M60A1 AVLB Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge ???In Service
M48 Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge ???In Service
Al-khalid II Main battle tank3000 plannedunder development
M109A5 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer ???115 Ordered along with 150 A5 upgrade kits
M109A2 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer150In Service
M110A2 203 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer40In Service
Type 56 85 mm Towed Artillery200In Service
M-56 105 mm Towed Artillery80In Service
M101 105 mm Towed Artillery300In Service
T-60 122 mm Towed Artillery200In Service
Type 54 122 mm Towed Artillery400In Service
Type 59I 130 mm Towed Artillery200In Service
M-59 155 mm Towed Artillery30In Service
M114 155 mm Towed Artillery60In Service
M-198 155 mm Towed Artillery120In Service
M-115 203 mm Towed Artillery40In Service
Panther T-155 mm Towed Artillery12Produced and Delivered byTurkey
AH-1S Cobra Attack Helicopter18In Service, (20 originally purchased in 1983; remaining being upgraded to AH-1F configuration)
AH-1F Cobra Attack Helicopter20In Service, (12 AH-1F delivered in 2007 with remaining 8 to be delivered in June 2008)
Bell 412 Huey Transport Helicopter25In Service
Bell 206 Jet Ranger Transport Helicopter5In Service
UH-1 Huey Transport Helicopter10In Service
Aérospatiale Puma Transport Helicopter25In Service
Mil Mi-17 Transport Helicopter86Additional helicopters planned
Bell 407 Light Transport Helicopter45
Eurocopter AS-550 Light Transport Helicopter50Replacing Alouette III & Lama
Aérospatiale Alouette III Light Transport Helicopter40Being phased out
Aérospatiale SA-315B Lama Light Transport Helicopter (variant of Aerospatiale Alouette II)40Being phased out


[edit] Mortars



  • (Type) 81 mm
  • AM-FFFF Series 120 mm
  • Type 63-1


[edit] Anti-tank Guided Weapons





A SA-7 missile and launcher



[edit] Army Air Defence




[edit] Missiles







This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008)

List of Pakistani Strategic Missiles:















































































DesignationOther NameRangePayloadStatusInventory
Hatf-I/IA80/100 km500 kgDeployed1000+
AbdaliHatf-II180 km500 kgDeployed, Under production800
GhaznaviHatf-III290 km500 kgDeployed, Under production1100+
Shaheen-IHatf-IV750 km750 kgDeployed, Under production705-1150
Ghauri-IHatf-V1500 km700-1000 kgDeployed, Under production1100+
Ghauri-IIHatf-VA2,000km, More range with lighter payload.1200 kgOperational, Under production1100+
Shaheen-IIHatf-VI2,500km, More range with lighter payload.1000+ kgDeployed, Under production2100+
BaburHatf-VII700 km500 kgDeployed, Cruise Missile12000
Ghauri-IIIHatf-VIII4,000 km less range than payload.2500+ kg,more range than payload.Operational, Under production
M-11300 km500 kgIn service1000




Trucks mounted with Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles at IDEAS 2008 Defense Expo in Karachi,Pakistan they can carry nuclear weapons to a maximum range of 4000 km.

Note: Every missile can carry a nuclear warhead,also the tipu missile have a smaller range with a bigger payload,the range could be 2500 km and then the payload could be 4000 kg.[citation needed]


The Chinese-made M-11 Missile is in service too, which is a Short Range Ballistic Missile with a maximum range of 300 km. It uses solid fuel and can carry a payload of around 500 kg.


In addition, there exists the Shaheen-III, which is under research and development and will be solid fueled like the others in the Shaheen series. It will have a range of 3600+ km and a payload of 1000+ kg. This weapon is an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile.[citation needed]


It has been recently reported by the Pakistani Press (Daily Jang) that Pakistan has the ability to use MIRVs on its missiles. This has been seen as possibly the greatest Pakistani Military achievement to date. It has also been reported that Pakistan would likely use MIRVs on its Shaheen-II missiles.Pakistan is likley to be building a babur-2,with a range of 1000-2000 km range.[citation needed]



[edit] Future Plans







This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

Throughout the International Defence Exhibition & Seminar (IDEAS) at Karachi in November 2006, Pakistani firms have signed joint development, production and marketing agreements with defence firms from South Korea, France and Ukraine. These agreements include new reactive armour bricks, 155 mm artillery shells, and other developments in armour and land weaponry. These agreements all relate to the Pakistan Army's AFFDP-2019 modernization program of its armour, artillery and infantry.[citation needed]


A few months prior to IDEAS 2006, the Pakistan Army and Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) announced the development of the Al Khalid II Main Battle Tank (MBT). The Al Khalid II is poised to become the Pakistan Army's backbone main battle tank from 2012; thus replacing 1200 obsolete Chinese T-59 and 300 T-85IIAP. Not much is known about this tank, but it is reported that the Al Khalid II is a very extensive upgrade of the current Al Khalid. Other reports suggest that it will be an entirely new tank based on Western designs. Turkish press reported that a Pakistani armour firm will participate in the Turkey's new generation tank project. Turkey and Pakistan have signed many memorandums of understanding in various defence-related fields. Given that many Pakistani firms have signed joint agreements with Western firms, it is possible that a considerable part of the Al Khalid II's design will be influenced from the Turkish tank design. Nonetheless, the new generation tank is expected to form the backbone of the Pakistan Army's tank force; in the long-term.[citation needed]


The Pakistan Army will standardize its artillery capability to 155 mm by 2019. This can be seen by the acquisition of 115 M109A5 self-propelled howitzers from the United States, and joint production deals of 155 mm shells with French and South Korean firms. It is expected that the army will procure a range of light, medium and heavy towed and self-propelled howitzer artillery from China, Europe and the United States. These will replace all non-155 mm and older systems. The Army reportedly ordered and procured an undisclosed number of WS-1B Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS). As part of the artillery modernization program, the Army will likely procure a fair number of new MLRS systems of various ranges and shell sizes.[citation needed]





AH-64D Possible Sale to Pakistan Army

[citation needed]


Modernization of the Army Aviation is underway with the procurement of new transport and attack helicopters from the United States, Russia and Europe. Finalized acquisitions include 26 Bell 412EP and at least a dozen Mi-17 medium-lift transport helicopters from the U.S and Russia, respectively. Forty Bell 407 and an unknown number of Fennec light helicopters from the U.S. and Eurocopter have also been ordered, respectively. Plans are underway to begin replacing the IAR 330 Puma, older Mil Mi-8/17, Bell Jet Rangers and older Huey helicopters; options include the Eurocopter NH-90 Tactical Transport Helicopter and UH-60M Blackhawk. The Pakistan Army has procured dozens of excess AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters since 2002; at least 20 have been brought into service to supplement the serving 18. These gunships are expected to add muscle to current counterterrorist support operations in NWFP.The army reportedly has upgraded its entire fleet with AH-1Z King Cobra avionics and new weapon systems such as the TOW-2 and Hellfire missiles. Up to 30 new-generation attack helicopters will be procured to further enhance the Army's attack aviation arm; options include the Eurocopter Tiger, South African AH-2 Rooivalk and Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow. It is likley that Pakistan ordered 6 AH-64D Apache Longbows.[citation needed]



[edit] See also




[edit] Notes




  1. ^ a b c d Iftikhar A. Khan. "Kayani shakes up army command" Dawn, 30 September, 2008
  2. ^ Three Corps Commander Replaced Dawn, April 11, 2006
  3. ^ Major reshuffle in Army: Corps Commander Mangla, Lahore Changed The News, March 25, 2008
  4. ^ "Corps commanders of Peshawar, Quetta and Bahawalpur changed" Dawn, April 15, 2007
  5. ^ Talbot, Ian. "Pakistan: A Modern History". Retrieved on 2006-04-10.
  6. ^ http://www.fauji.org.pk/
  7. ^ Fauji Foundation
  8. ^ "" Pakistan Female Sky Marshalls"". Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
  9. ^ "" Pakistan Female honour guards"". Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
  10. ^ "" Pakistan is the only country in the Islamic world to have women Major Generals "". Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  11. ^ ""Ahmadis in Pakistan army"". Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
  12. ^ BBC: Pakistan pilots get bravery award
  13. ^ "Special Service Group (Army)", PakDef. 
  14. ^ Global Security T-80UD
  15. ^ (in Polish)Kolekcja Czołgi Świata. Poland: Oxford Educational. 2007. pp. 13. ISBN 978-83-7425-773-2. http://www.amercom.com.pl/cs_spis.php. Retrieved on 18 August 2008. 
  16. ^ T-80UD at KMDB.


[edit] References



  • Cloughley, Brian. A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections, 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0195473346.


[edit] Further reading



  • Ayub, Muhammad. An Army, Its Role and Rule: A History of the Pakistan Army from Independence to Kargil, 1947–1999. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Rosedog Books. ISBN 0-8059-9594-3.
  • Cloughley, Brian. "War, Coups and Terror - Pakistan's Army in Years of Turmoil" (from 1972 to 2008). UK, Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 184415795-4.


[edit] External links








































Posted by at

1 comment:

ahmadqureshi said...

please go to this link
pakistannucelarprogram.blogspot.com

April 22, 2017 at 2:18 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)