I Corps (Pakistan)
Encyclopedia
The I Corps, also known as I Strike Corps, of the Pakistan Army
headquartered in Mangla, Azad Kashimir Province of Pakistan. Known as I Strike Corps, it is one of two strike corps within its ten manouvre Army corps. The I Strike Corps is one the oldest and major formation of Pakistan Army, and a major component of Northern Military Command of Pakistan Defence Forces.
Active in Indo-Pakistan wars, the I Strike Corps subordinated administrative units played an integral role in Kargil war
, and also served in current War in North-West Pakistan
. Its Core-Commander, Lieutenant-General Tariq Khan, is internationally known and distinguished for his leadership abilities in War in North-West Pakistan.
in 1957. Lt Gen Azam Khan
was its first commander. It was the first Pakistan
i corps ever to take to the field.
and in Kashmir
. During this time however, because of the sheer number of formations under its command, (8 divisions), it was found easier to split the formations into corps level task-forces, as a result in the '65 war it acted essentially as a Field Army.
salient. 15th Infantry Division was on the left side of the corps' frontage around Sialkot
, 8th Infantry Division on the right east of the Degh Nadi, and 8th Armoured Brigade in support. Further back, but titularly part of the corps, was Pakistan's Army Reserve North of 6th Armoured Division
and 17th Infantry Division. India planned a major attack in the sector, managed by I Corps
, but when the war broke out, the lead Indian formation, 54th Infantry Division only managed to advance a few miles - a total of eight miles in two weeks of operations. Yet repeated Pakistani counterattacks by the 8th Armoured Brigade near Jarpal and Barapind northeast of Zafarwal from 15 to 17 December were rebuffed with heavy losses by other elements of 54th Division, especially the Poona Horse. The two attacking regiments of 8th Armoured Brigade, 13th Lancers and 31st Cavalry, lost 40 to 50 tanks.
Meanwhile, while the Indian attacks went on, the reserve formations did little. 6th Armoured Division remained near Pasrur
waiting for orders, while 17th Infantry Division had significant detachments sent off to 23rd Infantry Division on the left and IV Corps
on the right.
Yet the fighting in Shakargarh, while ultimately successful as the Indian aims were thwarted, resulted in 8th Armoured Brigade's heavy loss of armour and some territory was also lost. As a result its commander, Lt Gen Irshad Khan, was recommended for court martial and dismissal; this was ultimately not carried out.
and the war on terror, on secondment to other formations. Its ORBAT is:
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
headquartered in Mangla, Azad Kashimir Province of Pakistan. Known as I Strike Corps, it is one of two strike corps within its ten manouvre Army corps. The I Strike Corps is one the oldest and major formation of Pakistan Army, and a major component of Northern Military Command of Pakistan Defence Forces.
Active in Indo-Pakistan wars, the I Strike Corps subordinated administrative units played an integral role in Kargil war
Kargil War
The Kargil War ,, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...
, and also served in current War in North-West Pakistan
War in North-West Pakistan
The War in North-West Pakistan is an armed conflict between the Pakistan Armed Forces and armed religious groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan , Lashkar-e-Islam, TSNM, Arab and Central Asian militants including Al-Qaeda, regional armed movements and elements of organized crime.The armed...
. Its Core-Commander, Lieutenant-General Tariq Khan, is internationally known and distinguished for his leadership abilities in War in North-West Pakistan.
History
The corps headquarters was raised in AbbottabadAbbottabad
Abbottabad is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, northeast of the capital Islamabad and east of Peshawar at an altitude of and is the capital of the Abbottabad District...
in 1957. Lt Gen Azam Khan
Azam Khan (general)
Lieutenant General Muhammad Azam Khan was a senior general of the Pakistan army who served under General Ayub Khan, the first military ruler of Pakistan. As a general, Khan oversaw the suppression of anti-Ahmadiyya violence following the Lahore riots of 1953, and served as the top army commander...
was its first commander. It was the first Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i corps ever to take to the field.
1965 War
During the 1965 war, the corps was one of two corps in action. It commanded troops all Pakistani troops north of LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
and in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. During this time however, because of the sheer number of formations under its command, (8 divisions), it was found easier to split the formations into corps level task-forces, as a result in the '65 war it acted essentially as a Field Army.
1971 war
I Corps began the 1971 war with a force of two divisions forward supported by an armoured brigade, holding the ShakargarhShakargarh
Shakargarh , the headquarters of Shakargarh Tehsil, is a city in the north-east of Narowal District, Punjab, Pakistan. It borders Jammu to the North and Sialkot to the west The city is located at 32°16'0N 75°10'0E and is situated at the west bank of the Ravi River.-Demographics:The total area of...
salient. 15th Infantry Division was on the left side of the corps' frontage around Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...
, 8th Infantry Division on the right east of the Degh Nadi, and 8th Armoured Brigade in support. Further back, but titularly part of the corps, was Pakistan's Army Reserve North of 6th Armoured Division
6th Armoured Division (Pakistan)
The 6th Armoured Division is a Pakistan Army armoured division currently based in Gujranwala, in Punjab Province.-Formation:The division was originally an armoured brigade known as the 100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group. In 1964, it was decided to use the headquarters and other assets of this...
and 17th Infantry Division. India planned a major attack in the sector, managed by I Corps
I Corps (India)
For the First World War corps, see I Corps I Corps is a military field formation of the Indian Army, created in 1965. It was still being raised when it was despatched to the front in 1965. It conducted a counteroffensive during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965...
, but when the war broke out, the lead Indian formation, 54th Infantry Division only managed to advance a few miles - a total of eight miles in two weeks of operations. Yet repeated Pakistani counterattacks by the 8th Armoured Brigade near Jarpal and Barapind northeast of Zafarwal from 15 to 17 December were rebuffed with heavy losses by other elements of 54th Division, especially the Poona Horse. The two attacking regiments of 8th Armoured Brigade, 13th Lancers and 31st Cavalry, lost 40 to 50 tanks.
Meanwhile, while the Indian attacks went on, the reserve formations did little. 6th Armoured Division remained near Pasrur
Pasrur
Pasrur is a city of Sialkot District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at 32°16'0N 74°40'0E with an altitude of 238 metres . The nearest big cities are Sialkot, Narowal and Gujranwala...
waiting for orders, while 17th Infantry Division had significant detachments sent off to 23rd Infantry Division on the left and IV Corps
IV Corps (Pakistan)
The IV Corps is one of military administrative corps of Pakistan Army. Having established in 1965 after the Indo-Pakistani September War, it is currently stationed in Lahore, Punjab Province of Pakistan. Its current core commander is Lieutenant-General Rashad Mahmood.-History:The corps was formed...
on the right.
Yet the fighting in Shakargarh, while ultimately successful as the Indian aims were thwarted, resulted in 8th Armoured Brigade's heavy loss of armour and some territory was also lost. As a result its commander, Lt Gen Irshad Khan, was recommended for court martial and dismissal; this was ultimately not carried out.
List of commanders
- Lt Gen Azam KhanAzam Khan (general)Lieutenant General Muhammad Azam Khan was a senior general of the Pakistan army who served under General Ayub Khan, the first military ruler of Pakistan. As a general, Khan oversaw the suppression of anti-Ahmadiyya violence following the Lahore riots of 1953, and served as the top army commander...
, July 1957 – ?? - Lt Gen Bakhtiar RanaBakhtiar RanaLieutenant General Bakhtiar Rana, M.C., was a senior officer in the Pakistan Army. He was Chief Martial Law Administrator . As a Lieutenant General, he commanded one of Pakistan Army's strike corps, I Corps, as its Corps Commander from 1958 to 1966...
, 1958–1966 - Lt Gen Abdul Hamid KhanAbdul Hamid Khan (general)General Abdul Hamid Khan, HQA, SPk, SQA, was a Pakistan Army General. He was the Chief of Staff Pakistan Army under President General Yahya Khan during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.-1965 Battle of Khem Karan:...
, 1966 – March 1969 - Lt Gen Attiqur Rahman, August 1969 – February 1970
- Lt Gen Irshad Ahmed Khan, February 1970–1972
- Lt Gen Abdul Ali MalikAbdul Ali MalikLieutenant General Abdul Ali Malik was a Pakistan Army engineer officer and a high-ranking military general. He is a well known figure from the Chawinda tank battle during the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war and a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.-Biography:...
, 1972–1974 - Lt Gen Azmat Bakhsh Awan, 1974 – March 1976
- Lt Gen Ghulam Hassan Khan, March 1976 – April 1980
- Lt Gen Ejaz Azim, April 1980 – April 1981
- Lt Gen Shamsur Rahman Kallue,
- Lt Gen Muhammad SafdarMuhammad SafdarLieutenant General Muhammad Safdar is the former Governor of Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan, having served from 1999 to 2001. A career soldier, he was Chief of General Staff at the GHQ under Zia-ul-Haq's rule, ambassador to Morocco in Nawaz Sharif's first tenure, carried on as...
, September 1985 – August 1987 - Lt Gen Zulfiqar Akhtar Naz, March 1988 – May 1992
- Lt Gen Khalid Latif Mughal, May 1992 – October 1995
- Lt Gen Pervez MusharrafPervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
, October 1995 – October 1998 - Lt Gen Saleem Haider, October 1998 – September 1999
- Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, September 1999 – April 2001
- Lt Gen Ghulam Mustafa, April 2001 – April 2002
- Lt Gen Javed Alam Khan, April 2002 – April 2006
- Lt Gen Sajjad Akram, April 2006 – April 2008
- Lt Gen Nadeem AhmadNadeem AhmadLieutenant General Nadeem Ahmad, HI, SE, TBt, is a retired Pakistan Army three-star general who is credited with planning and coordinating the relief and reconstruction efforts after the devastating earthquake of October 2005 firstly as head of military wing of Federal Relief Commission and then...
, April 2008 – April 2010 - Lt Gen Muhammad Mustafa Khan, April 2010 – October 2010
- Lt Gen Tariq Khan, October 2010 – present
Present day and order of battle
The corps has not been in action since 1971, though its subordinate units have served on the Line of ControlLine of Control
The term Line of Control refers to the military control line between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which, to this day, does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary but is the de facto border...
and the war on terror, on secondment to other formations. Its ORBAT is:
- HQ I Corps, ManglaManglaMangla town is located in Mirpur District, Azad Kashmir at the border with Jhelum district Punjab, with Jhelum river making the boundary. Mangla is an ancient town and is slated to be named after Mangla Devi. It is also the site of crossing of river Jhelum by Alexander forces facing Raja Porus...
- 6th Armoured Division6th Armoured Division (Pakistan)The 6th Armoured Division is a Pakistan Army armoured division currently based in Gujranwala, in Punjab Province.-Formation:The division was originally an armoured brigade known as the 100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group. In 1964, it was decided to use the headquarters and other assets of this...
, Kharian - 17th Infantry Division, Kharian
- 37th Infantry Division, Gujranwala
- 6th Armoured Division
External links
- GlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...
, Global Security Website about the I Corps - This shows the Formations Insignia