II Corps (Pakistan)
The II Corps, also known as II Strike Corps is a corps of Pakistan Army stationed in Multan, Punjab Province of Pakistan. The corps was active in Pakistan's theatre in War on Terror where its administrative divisions and brigades led numerous operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The corps is currently commanded by Lieutenant-General Akhtar Nawaz .[3] The longest-serving commander of this corps was Lieutenant-General Rahimuddin Khan who commanded for five and half years (from September 1978 to March 1984).
| II Corps | |
|---|---|
Formation sign of II Corps, Multan | |
| Active | 1967[1] - Present |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Allegiance | Pakistan Army |
| Type | Corps |
| Size | 50,000 approximately (though this may vary as units are rotated) |
| HQ/Command Control Headquarters | Multan, Multan District, Punjab |
| Nickname(s) | II Strike Corps, Multan Corps[2] |
| Colors Identification | Red, white and black |
| Engagements | Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Indo-Pakistani War of 1999 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff War in North-West Pakistan |
| Decorations | Military Decorations of Pakistan Military |
| Commanders | |
| Corps Commander | Lt. Gen. Akhtar Nawaz Satti |
| Chief of Staff | Brig. Ahmad Nadeem Bajwa |
| Notable commanders | Gen. Tikka Khan Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Gen. Rahimuddin Khan Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul Gen. Jehangir Karamat |
History
In 1967 this corps headquarters was established in Multan.[4]
The II corps was the 3rd newly created corps of the Pakistan Army as necessity of corps formations were being earnestly felt by the General Headquarters (GHQ), they wanted more decentralization of the army units, therefore intermediates between divisions and the GHQ were to be created and it were more corps headquarters.[5]
1971 War
The Corps was commanded by Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan during the war. Controversially one of its divisions; the 18th Infantry Division,[6] was taken out of II Corp's command and sent on an ill-fated offensive towards Ramgarh; which led to the debacle at the Battle of Longewala, the fact it was under GHQ rather than II Corps, spared the corps of any blame, but was later deemed one of the causes of failure. A major Indian attack towards Umerkot would be defeated[1] by two of the corps divisions; the 18th after its return from Ramgarh and to II Corps command, and the 33rd Infantry Division, a task for which they were commended,[7] after the war. In the final analysis its performance in the war; while commended by many parties, would be controversial, since at no time was its most powerful formation, 1st Armoured Division, committed to action.[8]
War in North-West Pakistan
As a heavy armoured and mechanized formation, it was unsuited for the mountain warfare that characterized the army's commitments over the next three decades in Kashmir, Siachen and Kargil, although it a few units did see action attached to other corps. As Pakistan's main strategic reserve, it was also not sent on overseas operations under the UN and with allies (such as Gulf War I and Somalia) which the army was ordered to undertake.
It would not be until 2008 when the elements of the corps would see action again. As the war in FATA heated up and militant activity increased to a hitherto unseen level, the government responded by launching a massive operation (code-named Operation Zalzala meaning earthquake) against the militant strongholds South Waziristan.[9] The operation would be spearheaded by 14th Infantry Division of II Corps, and would succeed in evicting the militants from their stronghold.[10] On December 26, 2008, elements of the 14th Infantry Division, were being redeployed to the Indian border.[11]
Structure
The Corps Order of Battle is:[12]
| Structure of II Corps | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corps | Corps HQ | Corps Commander | Assigned Units | Unit HQ | |||||
| II Corps | Multan | Lt.Gen Chirag Haider | 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
| # | 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 | Present |
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "One-third of corps commanders replaced in major reshuffle". Dawn. 25 August 2018.
- ^ Khan, Gul Hassan Khan (1993). Memoirs of Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan. Lahore: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-577447-4.
- ^ Khan, Agha Muhammad Yahya (1997). The breaking of Pakistan. Lahore: Liberty Pubsihers.
- ^ 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".
- ^ . news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008.
- ^ Global Security