XXX Corps (Pakistan)
Encyclopedia
The XXX Corps known as Triple X Corps, is an active military administrative corps of Pakistan Army
currently assigned in Gujranwala
, Punjab Province. The Corps is a major and integral part of Eastern Military Command of Pakistan Defence Forces where, along with PAF
's Eastern Air Command and Navy
's Eastern Naval Command. It is currently commanded by Lieutenant-General Raheel Sharif, who is designated as Core-commander of the Corps.
The vital area, which connects Pakistani Punjab and parts of Kashmir
governed by India
(extending from Jehlum to Narowal), has always been of strategic importance; the place was the site of major battles in both 1965 and 1971. Traditionally, this area had been held by I Corps
. That corps already had offensive duties and the task of defending this area was being neglected by the corps HQ.
To improve the situation it was decided to raise another corps headquarters to look after this area. Thus the XXX Corps was raised and given the command of both new raisings and units and formations detached from I Corps, which was then dedicated to offensive tasks.
Since the beginnings of an anti-India insurgency in Kashmir, the Line of Control
has been an active operational zone. The corps has been deployed along its sector of the LOC and engaged in operations since 1989.
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...
currently assigned in Gujranwala
Gujranwala
Gujranwala is a industrial city in the north-east of the Punjab province. It is the sixth largest city in Pakistan with a population of approximately 2,661,360 as on 24 June 2011...
, Punjab Province. The Corps is a major and integral part of Eastern Military Command of Pakistan Defence Forces where, along with PAF
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
's Eastern Air Command and Navy
Pakistan Navy
The Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
's Eastern Naval Command. It is currently commanded by Lieutenant-General Raheel Sharif, who is designated as Core-commander of the Corps.
The vital area, which connects Pakistani Punjab and parts of 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...
governed by India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(extending from Jehlum to Narowal), has always been of strategic importance; the place was the site of major battles in both 1965 and 1971. Traditionally, this area had been held by I Corps
I Corps (Pakistan)
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...
. That corps already had offensive duties and the task of defending this area was being neglected by the corps HQ.
To improve the situation it was decided to raise another corps headquarters to look after this area. Thus the XXX Corps was raised and given the command of both new raisings and units and formations detached from I Corps, which was then dedicated to offensive tasks.
Since the beginnings of an anti-India insurgency in Kashmir, the Line of Control
Line 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...
has been an active operational zone. The corps has been deployed along its sector of the LOC and engaged in operations since 1989.
List of commanders
- Lt Gen Imtiaz Waraich, July 1987 – March 1988
- Lt Gen Pir Dad Khan, March 1988 – November 1990
- Lt Gen Chaudhry Sardar Ali, November 1990 - May 1992
- Lt Gen Hamid Niaz, May 1992 - May 1993
- Lt Gen Mohammad Tariq, May 1993 – August 1995
- Lt Gen Javed Ashraf QaziJaved Ashraf QaziLieutenant General Javed Ashraf Qazi, HI, SBt, is a Pakistani general and politician who is currently a Senator in the Parliament of Pakistan. During his army career, Qazi headed the Inter-Services Intelligence from 1993 to 1995 and Military Intelligence from 1990 to 1991...
, August 1995 – February 1996 - Lt Gen Ziauddin ButtZiauddin ButtGeneral Ziauddin Khawaja, also known as Ziauddin Butt, is a four-star general of the Pakistan Army and a career operations and infantry formations commander, head of intelligence and engineering officer...
, February 1996 – March 1997 - Lt Gen Naeem Akbar Khan, March 1997 – April 1998
- Lt Gen Agha Jehangir Khan, April 1998 – January 2001
- Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch, January 2001 – October 2001
- Lt Gen Faiz Jilani Malik, October 2001 – March 2003
- Lt Gen Khalid Munir Khan, March 2003 – January 2004
- Lt Gen Javed Hassan, January 2004 – October 2004
- Lt Gen Mohammad Sabir, October 2004 – September 2005
- Lt Gen Anis Ahmed Abbasi, September 2005 – April 2007
- Lt Gen Waseem Ahmad Ashraf, April 2007 – October 2008
- Lt Gen Nadeem TajNadeem TajLieutenant General Nadeem Taj, HI is a senior and a three star general in the Pakistan Army who is currently serving as its Adjutant General in the GHQ...
, October 2008 – April 2010 - Lt Gen Jamil Haider, April 2010 – October 2010
- Lt Gen Raheel Sharif, October 2010 – present
Order of battle
Its present order of battle is as follows:- HQ XXX Corps, GujranwalaGujranwalaGujranwala is a industrial city in the north-east of the Punjab province. It is the sixth largest city in Pakistan with a population of approximately 2,661,360 as on 24 June 2011...
- 8th Infantry Division, SialkotSialkotSialkot 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...
. The division was raised in 1947, and took part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971Indo-Pakistani War of 1971The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
with 24, 14th Parachute, and 115 Brigades. Attached were Changez Force and 124 Brigade from 33rd Infantry Division. - 15th Infantry Division, SialkotSialkotSialkot 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...
- 2nd Independent Armoured Brigade, RawalpindiRawalpindiRawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
- 8th Infantry Division, Sialkot