- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LN_rVlZ41Q
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KASUJCwe6E
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYF1jAYA8OA
Saturday, 15 February 2014
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
his page is about the Pakistan Army's special forces, for the Pakistan Navy, see Special Service Group Navy and for the Pakistan Air Force, see Special Service Wing
The Special Services Group (SSG) is a special operations force of the Pakistan Army. It is quite similar to the U.S. Army's Special Forces and the British Army's SAS.
The SSG, headquartered in Cherat, is headed by a Major-General and divided into ten battalions, the actual strength of which are classified.
Special Services Group Insignia outside SSG Headquarters Cherat
Another battle reported as having been fought between the Pakistanis and Soviet troops, in Kunar Province in March 1986. But the Russians claim that the battle have actually been fought between the GRU Spetsnaz's 15th Spetsnaz Brigade, and the Asama Bin Zaid regiment of Afghan mujahideen under Commander Assadullah, belonging to Abdul Rasul Sayyaf's faction.[4]
India believes that Pakistan's Baloch Regiment led the attack on LoC in 2013 January and that troops from the Special Services Group killed the Indian soldiers and beheaded them.[6][7] Indians claimed that Baloch regiment's honor made them try and argue with SSG to not mutilating the bodies of Indian soldiers but SSG acted ignoring Baloch officer. Later in 2013 August, a patrol team of 5 Indian soldiers were killed 450 meter inside Indian territory, which also Indians believe as an action by SSG.[8][9]
Each battalion consists of 700 men in four companies, with each
company split into platoons and then into 10-man teams. Battalions are
commanded by Lieutenant Colonels.
Plus three independent commando companies:
Many in the SSG school are selected for additional specialist training. A HALO[citation needed] course is given at Peshawar with a "Skydiver" tab awarded after 25 freefall jumps. A "Mountain Warfare" qualification badge is given after completing a course at the Mountain Warfare School in Abbottabad. A "Combat Diver" badge is awarded for the course held by the Naval Special Services Group SSGN at Karachi. (Three classes of combat swimmers are recognized: 1st class to those completing an 18-mile swim, 2nd class to those finishing a 15-mile swim, and 3rd class for a 10-mile swim.) Due to the Siachen crisis, a Snow and High Altitude Warfare School was established in the Northern Areas after splitting off from the Army School of Physical Training and Mountain Warfare in Abottabad.
SSG regularly sends students to the US for additional training.
During the 1980s and then into the 1990s, SSG held many similar training exercises with US Special Forces called "Inspired Venture". These exercises were usually held during the early months of January and February with approximately 150 US troops. The exercises were focused on weapon familiarization and use, mountain-warfare along with tactics, raids and ambushes, and eventually airborne operations.[citation needed]
The SSG also conducts exercises with Chinese special forces. In 2006, China and Pakistan conducted an eight-day exercise called the Pakistan-China Joint Exercise Friendship-2006.[26]
SSG has also been reported to train with the Jordanian Royal Special Forces and Iranian Quds Force and conducts training for special forces of other Middle Eastern countries at Cherat.
SSGN (SSG Navy) is distinguished by a dark blue beret with three versions of the "fouled anchor" navy badge for officers, NCOs and enlisted men. A metal SSGN qualification badge featuring a vertical dagger superimposed over a midget submarine is worn over the left pocket on dress uniforms. Parachute wings are worn over the right pocket.
The SSW (Special Service Wing) is distinguished by maroon berets with PAF Officer, JCO or Airmen insignia on the beret, and a wing on the right side of the chest. The combat uniform of SSW is olive drab camouflage. They also wear their special service wing insignia on the left shoulder "Winged Dragons and lightning bolts" .
| Special Services Group (SSG) | |
|---|---|
Special Services Group Insignia
|
|
| Active | 23 March 1956—Present |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Allegiance |  Pakistan Army |
| Branch | Pakistan Army |
| Type | Special Operations Forces |
| Role | Special Operations |
| Size | 10 Battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | Cherat, Pakistan |
| Nickname | SSG Maroon Berets Army SS Group Black Storks |
| Motto | Mann Janbazam |
| Colours Identifications | Maroon and Sky blue |
| Anniversaries | Pakistan Day: March 23 |
| Engagements | Operation Gibraltar Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Soviet war in Afghanistan Siachen war Indo-Pakistani War of 1999 Operation Silence War in North-West Pakistan United Nations Military missions War in Afghanistan |
| Commanders | |
| Current Commander | Major-General Farrukh Bashir, Colonel-in-Chief |
The SSG, headquartered in Cherat, is headed by a Major-General and divided into ten battalions, the actual strength of which are classified.
Baluch (SSG Pak)
SSG Pak was raised by amalgamating 17/10th Baloch (19 Baloch) and 312 Garrison Company. Based out of Cherat and Attock, the SSG was created in 1956. That year, 19 Baloch was selected[by whom?] for conversion to a special operation force. As a result of this, the SSG has inherited many of the traditions and insignia of the Baloch Regiment. The 19th Baloch Regiment's first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General) Aboobaker Osman Mitha[1] who commanded it for six years till 1961.[2] The first commander of its Alpha Company was Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Gaideen Khan Abdullai Mahsud. Their initial training and orientation as regards tactics was based on the US Special Forces pattern with whom they co-operated closely in the Cold War years.[1] The SSG initially had 6 companies and each company had specialization units, specialized in desert, mountain, ranger, and underwater warfare.[1] The desert companies participated in training exercises with US Army Special Forces Mobile Training Team in late 1964. In August 1965, scope of SSG was raised from a battalion size force to larger Special Operations outfit and instead of 19 Baloch (SSG) they simply adopted the name Special Service Group.[1] The scuba company in Karachi was renowned for its tough physical training.[1] Later on, Chinese training, tactics, weapons, and equipment were also introduced.[1]
Indo-Pakistan War of 1965
The SSG jawans were initially deployed along the Afghan border to repel Afghan incursions into Pakistan, but their first major deployment came during the war of 1965. Around 120 officers and men were dropped on the night of 6/7 September near the Indian airbases of Adampur, Pathankot and Halwara. Due to the poor intelligence, inadequate preparations, difficult terrain, and poor visibility, none of the teams were able to regroup after the drops. Most of the men were either killed or captured by civilians and Indian armed forces, and only a few made it back to Pakistan. Captain Hazur Hasnain and a few jawans captured an Indian Army jeep and made it back via Fazilka.[1] The operation was a disaster. By 1971, the SSG had grown to 3 battalions with 1 permanently stationed in East Pakistan.Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
The performance of the SSG in 1971 was much better, with 1 Commando Battalion making a spectacular raid on an Indian artillery regiment, disabling several of their guns and inflicting casualties.[1]SSG Involvement in Soviet Afghan War
[citation needed] Author Aukai Collins, in the book My Jihad, reports that Pakistani commandos have engaged the Soviet Airborne Forces in a battle that had taken place in 1986 or 1987, when the Soviet Army had inserted about three thousand Spetsnaz-aided paratroopers in an attempt to advance all the way to the Pakistani border. About three hundred Pakistani commandos teamed up with five hundred mujaheddin and fought the Spetsnaz for twenty seven days.[3]Another battle reported as having been fought between the Pakistanis and Soviet troops, in Kunar Province in March 1986. But the Russians claim that the battle have actually been fought between the GRU Spetsnaz's 15th Spetsnaz Brigade, and the Asama Bin Zaid regiment of Afghan mujahideen under Commander Assadullah, belonging to Abdul Rasul Sayyaf's faction.[4]
Siachen and Kargil War
The SSG was also active on the eastern border with India and they have fought in Siachen. In the Kargil war SSG performed rather well in the initial stages, infiltrating relatively deep into Indian territory undetected as sheep herders. During the period of snowfall all the Indian posts were empty and they didn't have to face any repulsion, though later when Indian Army came to know about it resulted in a full-fledged war in which SSG suffered many casualties . In 1980, the SSG's Musa Company, which was originally formed in 1970 as a combat diver unit, was given the anti-terrorist operations role. Musa Company got the best founders in the beginning like Major Faiz Akbar Shah and Captain Sajjad Ali Shah. They were UDT/Seals qualified from class 79 of American Navy Seals. Captain Sajjad, who later retired as a Lieutenant Colonel was a salvage expert and had the intensive training of under water demolition. Musa Company was trained by British SAS advisers in mid-1981.[1]Recent activities
Recently, SSG has been active in anti-terrorist operations in Pakistan's restive western borders with Afghanistan and fighting Islamic extremists in Pakistani cities such as the Lal Masjid siege[5] in the operation of generals headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Navy's SSG(N) took part in the PNS mehran operation.India believes that Pakistan's Baloch Regiment led the attack on LoC in 2013 January and that troops from the Special Services Group killed the Indian soldiers and beheaded them.[6][7] Indians claimed that Baloch regiment's honor made them try and argue with SSG to not mutilating the bodies of Indian soldiers but SSG acted ignoring Baloch officer. Later in 2013 August, a patrol team of 5 Indian soldiers were killed 450 meter inside Indian territory, which also Indians believe as an action by SSG.[8][9]
Operations
Military operations
- The SSG was first used in 1965 in the State of Jammu & Kashmir. In an operation codenamed Gibraltar, their aims were continued reconnaissance, sabotage of Indian military facilities and the eventual liberation of Kashmir from Indian control, though the operation didn't end as success.[10]
- The SSG lead the Operation Clean Wash to eliminate a group of terrorists in Makkah in 1979.[11]
- In the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 they were once again used, this time in assistance to regular infantry units and for non-conventional and rescue operations. In the face of the massive political and military onslaught in East Pakistan, the SSG faced the indian forces in the theater suffering heavy losses and could do little in turning the tide of war.[12] Pervez Musharraf commanded a company of commandos during the war.
- SSG troops arrested Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the night of 25 March 1971 during Operation Searchlight. Upon his arrest, they sent a message to Dhaka Cantonment headquarters saying, "Big bird in the cage".
- The SSG was active in Afghanistan in the 1980s during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, conducting covert and direct action missions. Again, when the balance of power shifted, it led some covert operations against the very Afghan government (Taliban) that Pakistan (along with USA, Saudi Arabia and UAE) had once aided, this time as part of the allied forces in operation Enduring Freedom. The SSG has aided in the capture of many senior Al Qaeda leaders, most notably Abu Zubaida and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
- The SSG has worked with the US CIA's Special Activities Division and has been active inside the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) targeting al-Qaeda operatives for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Predator strikes.[13] These strike have led to what has been described as highly successful counterterrorism operations.[14][15]
- The SSG has also conducted operations on the Siachen Glacier against Indian positions.[citation needed]
- In addition, some covert operations in United Nations military missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Somalia and Sierra Leone have also been executed by SSG operators.[citation needed]
- In Operation Black Thunderstorm, SSG troops abseiled from helicopters into Daggar, a town northwest of Islamabad, killing up to 50 militants.[citation needed]
Counter terrorism operations
- In September 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked by terrorists while it was refuelling in Karachi. As negotiations stalled and the terrorists started to kill passengers, SSG stormed the plane. The SSG killed one hijacker and captured the rest.[citation needed]
- In February 1994, Afghan hijackers took over a school bus with 74 children and 8 teachers. They drove to the Afghan mission in Islamabad where they released 57 students but kept 16 boys and the teachers. The negotiations led nowhere and it was decided to free the hostages by force. The Pakistani authorities had somehow managed to inform the children of the impending raid.[citation needed] The SSG commandos used a secondary explosion as a distraction and entered the room at the Afghan embassy where the hostages were being held, killing the three hijackers.[citation needed] The operation lasted about 20 seconds.[16]
- In May 1998, three members of the Baloch terrorists took over a PIA Fokker plane because they were angry at the government for conducting nuclear tests in Baluchistan. As negotiations dragged, SSG commandos rushed the plane and apprehended all 3 hijackers. None of the passengers were harmed during the assault.
- In July 2007, the SSG was the main assault force which re-took the Lal Masjid from extremists. The SSG suffered 11 killed and 33 wounded.[17] On September 13, 2007 a suicide bomber killed at least 20 personnel of the SSG and injured dozens others at the officers mess of the sensitive cantonment area of Tarbela-Ghazi.[18] The blast has reported to been a vendetta attack by the Islamic fundamentalists who were attacked in the Red Masjid siege in July.[19] According to reliable sources a civilian wearing a white cap with a long beard walked with his bicycle towards the SSG mess and blew himself up there.[20]
- On 30 March 2009, SSG successfully participated in thwarting the 2009 Lahore police academy attacks.[21][22]
- On 10 October 2009, militants attacked the Pakistan Military Headquarters, taking hostage 42 civil and military officials. SSG commandos rescued 39 hostages and killed 9 militants, capturing one. The militants have been linked to Ilyas Kashmiri being a leading Al Qaeda commander operating alongside Tehrik-e-Taliban. A total of six SSG commandos and three hostages were killed in the operation. As reported by ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations) http://www.ispr.gov.pk/front/main.asp?o=t-press_release&id=930. The operation was undertaken by SSG's Counter Terrorism Force.[23] Three more SSG commandos, injured during the operation, died in the hospital on October 12.[24]
Organization
Pakistani special forces have 10 battalions:[citation needed]Plus three independent commando companies:
- Musa Company - Specializes in Amphibious Operations
- Zarrar Company - Specializes in Counter-terrorism
Training
SSG officers must have at least five years of prior military experience and volunteer from other formations for two-year assignments with the SSG; non-commissioned officers and enlisted men volunteer from other formations to serve permanently in the SSG. All trainees must participate in a nine-month SSG course at Cherat. The SSG course emphasizes physical conditioning, including a 36-mile march in 12 hours and a five-mile run in 40 minutes with full gear. Following the SSG course, trainees must go through the airborne training to get their commando wings from the SSG Airborne School. The course lasts four weeks, with wings awarded after five day-jumps and three night-jumps. The SSG recruits get trained in hand-to-hand combat training and very hard physical fitness training; only about 25% of recruits make it through to the Pakistan SSG due to the very tough training course.[25]Many in the SSG school are selected for additional specialist training. A HALO[citation needed] course is given at Peshawar with a "Skydiver" tab awarded after 25 freefall jumps. A "Mountain Warfare" qualification badge is given after completing a course at the Mountain Warfare School in Abbottabad. A "Combat Diver" badge is awarded for the course held by the Naval Special Services Group SSGN at Karachi. (Three classes of combat swimmers are recognized: 1st class to those completing an 18-mile swim, 2nd class to those finishing a 15-mile swim, and 3rd class for a 10-mile swim.) Due to the Siachen crisis, a Snow and High Altitude Warfare School was established in the Northern Areas after splitting off from the Army School of Physical Training and Mountain Warfare in Abottabad.
SSG regularly sends students to the US for additional training.
Interaction with other elite units
SSG conducts regular (bi-annual) exercises with the Turkish Special Forces which have been designated as the "Ataturk" series. The first of these exercises was held in December 1998. The Turkish force included 21 officers and 14 non-commissioned officers. The second exercise of this series was held in November 2000, while Atatürk-III concluded in September 2002.[citation needed]During the 1980s and then into the 1990s, SSG held many similar training exercises with US Special Forces called "Inspired Venture". These exercises were usually held during the early months of January and February with approximately 150 US troops. The exercises were focused on weapon familiarization and use, mountain-warfare along with tactics, raids and ambushes, and eventually airborne operations.[citation needed]
The SSG also conducts exercises with Chinese special forces. In 2006, China and Pakistan conducted an eight-day exercise called the Pakistan-China Joint Exercise Friendship-2006.[26]
SSG has also been reported to train with the Jordanian Royal Special Forces and Iranian Quds Force and conducts training for special forces of other Middle Eastern countries at Cherat.
Deployment
Components of the battalions are constantly rotated between Cherat, Attock, and any other hot spots (such as Pakistan-India border or when Pakistani forces are deployed overseas as part of the UN peace keeping operations) in order to provide experience to the operators. The SSG are used to provide security to various vital points such as the strategic nuclear facilities in Pakistan. It is thought[by whom?] that a number of SSG operators are stationed in Saudi Arabia for the protection of the Saudi royal family. Many SSG officers and other ranks are routinely seconded to the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for clandestine and reconnaissance missions.[citation needed] SSG has planted some of their operatives under command of ISI within various civilian government and private institutions for various security purposes. The details of the operatives are highly classified. Most of the operatives of this "covert" division are planted in educational institutes..[citation needed]Notable members
- Major General Aboobaker Osman Mitha is known as the Father of Special Service Group of Pakistan Army.
- General Pervez Musharraf Commanded Operation To Release Khana Kaaba From Militants. Who was young and energetic commando was given the responsibility to lead the operation and clear the Kaaba from militants.
- Lt. General(Retd) Haroon Aslam is known for leading Operation Rah-e-Rast in Swat valley in 2009. Under his command the (Special Services Group) fought bravely in Piochar Valley and liberated that area from the terrorists.
- Brigadier Tariq Mehmood (Brigadier TM) was a legendary soldier and commander of SSG. Brigadier TM was one of the most decorated soldiers in Pakistan with 2 Sitara-e-Jurat (Bar), Sitar-e-Basalat and Hilal-e-Shujaat (posthumous). TM died on 29 May 1989, when his parachute did not open. One of the training exercises in Pakistan Military Academy is named after him (TM Raiders) and two crossroads (chowks) are named after him; one in Gujranwala, where he died and one in Rawalpindi outside the General Headquarters of Pakistan Army.[27]
- Colonel Abu Taher from Bangladesh Army(was an officer of former Pakistan Army) joined the elite Special Service Group (Commando Force) in 1965. He was one of the first Bengali Commandos who joined in SSG. Following his training, he participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 in the Kashmir sector and the Sialkot sector. For his part, he received a gallantry award from the Government of Pakistan. After the war, Taher took advanced training on Guerrilla Warfare at Fort Bragg and Fort Benning in the United States in 1969. He was posted to the Quetta Staff College, Pakistan in 1970.He is considered as one of the best and most dangerous commandos in the history of SSG.[28]
- Lieutenant Colonel Haroon Islam, the Commanding Officer of Operation Silence, was a military officer of the SSG. Islam was killed during the fighting which took place inside the Red Mosque Complex while commanding a team of SSG commandos.
- General Mirza Aslam Beg the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army from 1987 to 1991. As a major, Beg commanded an SSG company in 1960 during the Dir-Bajaur Operation in the North-West Frontier Province.
- General Shamim Alam Khan, former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. As a major, he commanded an SSG company in Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, for which he was awarded Sitara-e-Jurat.
- Major General Ameer Faisal Alavi (28 March 1954 – 19 November 2008) was a Pakistan Army 2 star general and special operations expert who was the first General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the elite Special Service Group of Pakistan Army. A former member of Special Service Group, he was credited with masterminding the Angoor Ada operation in 2004, where many Arabs and Chechans based in the tribal areas were killed or arrested and turned over to the Americans. On 19 November 2008, while driving to work in his car in Islamabad, he was shot dead by three unknown gunmen. It was alleged that Ilyas Kashmiri, the chief of Jammu & Kashmir chapter of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami[2], was behind the murder of Maj-Gen Alavi at the behest of the Taliban in North Waziristan.
Appearance and equipment
Uniforms
The commandos are distinguished by their insignia of maroon berets, a common color for airborne troops, with a silver metal tab on a light blue felt square with a dagger and lightning bolts, and a wing on the right side of the chest. The combat uniform of the SSG is similar to the US woodland pattern camouflage coat and pants. Other uniforms include camouflage and black dungarees (for the CT team).SSGN (SSG Navy) is distinguished by a dark blue beret with three versions of the "fouled anchor" navy badge for officers, NCOs and enlisted men. A metal SSGN qualification badge featuring a vertical dagger superimposed over a midget submarine is worn over the left pocket on dress uniforms. Parachute wings are worn over the right pocket.
The SSW (Special Service Wing) is distinguished by maroon berets with PAF Officer, JCO or Airmen insignia on the beret, and a wing on the right side of the chest. The combat uniform of SSW is olive drab camouflage. They also wear their special service wing insignia on the left shoulder "Winged Dragons and lightning bolts" .
Equipment
The SSG is equipped with an array of modern weaponry which includes, Steyr AUG, SIG 552 LR, HK G3, and Chinese Type-81/56 rifles, Colt M4 carbines, and FN P90[29] and HK-MP5 Submachine guns (many different variants). Light machine gun in use is Rheinmetall MG3 (locally produced along with HK G3s and MP5s). In sniper or Marksman role, the SSG CT (Counter-Terrorism) teams are equipped with Barrett M82, Finnish Tikka bolt-action rifles, Steyr sniper SSG 69, POF Eye Corner shot gun and HK PSG1 and Dragunov SVD Semi-automatic rifles. Pistols include various Heckler & Koch & Glock models.Recipients of Nishan-e-Haider
Similar to the American Medal of Honor or the British Victoria Cross, it has only been awarded to 9 Pakistan Army personnel since 1947:
| Name | Unit | Conflict | Date | Place of Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Muhammad Sarwar | 2nd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment | War of 1947 | 27 July 1948 | Uri, Kashmir |
| Major Tufail Mohammad | 16th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment | 1958 Border clash with India | 7 August 1958 | Lakshmipur District |
| Major Aziz Bhatti | 17th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment | War of 1965 | 10 September 1965 | Lahore District |
| Major Mohammad Akram | 4th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment | War of 1971 | 1971 | East Pakistan |
| Major Shabbir Sharif | 6th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment | War of 1971 | 6 December 1971 | Salmanki Sector, Kasur |
| Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz | 15th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment | War of 1971 | 8 December 1971 | Wagah-Attari |
| Sawar Muhammad Hussain | 20th Lancers, Armoured Corps | War of 1971 | 10 December 1971 | Zafarwal-Shakargarh |
| Captain Karnal Sher Khan | 12th Battalion of the Northern Light Infantry | Kargil War | 5 July 1999 | Kargil, Indian administered Kashmir |
| Havaldar Lalak Jan | 12th Battalion of the Northern Light Infantry | Kargil War | 7 July 1999 | Kargil, Indian administered Kashmir |
Recipients of foreign awards
Two Pakistani pilots belonging to the army aviation branch of Pakistan Army who carried out a daring rescue of a mountaineer were given Slovenia's top award for bravery. Slovenian, Tomaz Humar got stranded on the western end of the 8,125m Nanga Parbat mountain where 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 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.[47]
Pakistan Army team was awarded a gold medal at the prestigious Cambrian Patrol Exercise held in Wales in 2010. According to ISPR, "Rawalpindi Corps team represented Pakistan Army in Exercise Cambrian Patrol – 2010, held from 11–13 October 2010 and by the Grace of Allah, the team showed an excellent performance by winning a Gold Medal in the event, which is a big honour not only for Army but for the Country as a whole.
Pakistan army special force
he Special Services Group (SSG) is an independent commando regiment/corps 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.[citation needed]
It is estimated to have been increased to 4 Battalions, with the
eventual formation of 2 Brigades of Special Forces (6 Battalions)
| Commissioned Officers Ranks of the Pakistan Army | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay grade | O-10 | O-9 | O-8 | O-7 | O-6 | O-5 | O-4 | O-3 | O-2 | O-1 | |||
| Insignia |   |
  |
  |
  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Title | General | Lieutenant-General | Major-General | Brigadier | Colonel | Lieutenant-Colonel | Major | Captain | Lieutenant | Second Lieutenant | |||
| Abbreviation | Gen | LGen | MGen | Brig | Col | LCol | Maj | Capt | Lt | SLt | |||
| NATO Code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | |||
| Rank Hierarchy | 4-star General | 3-star General | 2-star General | 1-star Officer | |||||||||
| Structure of Non-Commissioned Officers Ranks of Pakistan Army | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay grade | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | ||||
| Insignia |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
No insignia | No insignia | ||||
| Title | Battalion Havildar Major | Battalion Quartermaster Havildar | Company Havildar Major | Company Quartermaster Havildar | Havildar | Naik | Lance Naik | Sepoy | No Equivalent | ||||
| Abbreviation | BHM | BQMH | CHM | CQMH | HLD | NK | LN | S | NE | ||||
| NATO Code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | ||||
| Junior Commissioned Officer Ranks | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insignia |  |
 |
 |
||||||||||
| Title | Subedar Major (infantry and other arms)/Risaldar Major (cavalry and armour) | Subedar (infantry and other arms)/Risaldar (cavalry and armour) | Naib Subedar (infantry and other arms)/Naib Risaldar (cavalry and armour) | ||||||||||
Subdivision by profession
The Pakistan Army is divided into two main branches, which are Arms and Services.
|
|
Pak Army history
1947–1958
The sole division headquarters that went to Pakistan was the 7th. 8th and 9th Divisions were raised in 1947; 10, 12th and 14 Divisions were raised in 1948. 15 Div was raised in 1950. At some point before 1954, 6 Division was raised and 9 Division disbanded. 6 Division was disbanded at some point after 1954 as US assistance was available only for one armoured and six infantry divisions.
1958–1969
Main article: Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Pakistan Army took over from politicians for the first time when General Ayub Khan came to power through a bloodless coup in 1958.
He formed Convention Muslim League which includes Pakistan's first
elected Prime Minister Z.A. Bhutto. Tensions with India continued in the
1960s and a brief border skirmish was fought near the Rann of Kutch
area during April 1965. On the night of 6 September 1965 Indian Army
attacked the Punjab Province of Pakistan, without an announcement,
Pakistan hold them off, eventually capturing about 1200 km area inside
India but a treaty was reached and the area was given back. The war
ended with UN backed ceasefire and followed by Tashkent Declaration.
According to the Library of Congress Country Studies conducted by the
Federal Research Division of the United States, the war was inconclusive
militarily.[10] The war was militarily inconclusive; each side held prisoners and some territory belonging to the other.The Pakistan Army considers itself to have achieved a victory because it simply insists and ignores the treaty of Tashkent by saying it was arranged by USSR, who managed to hold off significantly larger force attacking Pakistani territory at different points, which the PA did not expect and was not prepared or equipped for. Indian sources as well as neutral sources disagree and call the end result an Indian victory. All though Pakistan failed in gaining all of Kashmir, highly effective support from the Pakistan Air Force, which was unexpected, is often considered to have neutralised India's advantage in quantity of forces. The accurate artillery fire provided by the PA artillery units is also stated to have played a significant role.
An uprising against General Ayub Khan during 1968 and 1969 resulted in Ayub Khan relinquishing his office as President and Chief of Army Staff in favour of General Yahya Khan, who assumed power in 1969. 16 Division, 18 Division and 23 Division were raised at some point between 1966 and 1969 and 9 Division was re-raised during this period.
1969–1971
During the rule of Yahya Khan, the people of East Pakistan protested against various political and economic disparities that had been imposed on them by West Pakistan and massive civil unrest broke out in East Pakistan. During operations against these rebels, called Operation Searchlight, a faction of the Pakistan Army under General Yahya Khan was responsible for the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities.[11] Beginning with the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971 and due to the Bangladesh Liberation War, there were numerous human rights abuses in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) perpetrated by the Pakistan Army, with support from local political and religious militias, especially against Hindus.[12][13] Time reported a high ranking US official as saying "It is the most incredible, calculated thing since the days of the Nazis in Poland."[14]The original plan envisioned taking control of the major cities on 26 March 1971, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military,[15] within one month. The prolonged Bengali resistance was not anticipated by Pakistani planners.[16] The main phase of Operation Searchlight ended with the fall of the last major town in Bengali hands in the mid of May.
Soon heavy fighting broke out between Pakistani Army and Indian-backed Bengali freedom fighters, in this period the Pakistan Army killed estimated 3 million Bengali people. In December 1971. Pakistan attacked India's western air based that started the Pakistan India War of 1971 (also called the Bangladesh Liberation War). In eastern theatre Pakistan Army was decimated by Indian Army and Bengali freedom fighters while in west front Pakistan Army was defeated in battles of Basanter and Longewalla.
On 16 December 1971, Lt. Gen A. A. K. Niazi, CO of Pakistan Army forces located in East Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender. Over 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces, making it the largest surrender since World War II.
In 1997 R. J. Rummel published a book, available on the web, called "Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900", In Chapter 8 called "Statistics Of Pakistan's Democide Estimates, Calculations, And Sources" he looks at the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Rummel wrote:
- In East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) [the President of Pakistan, General Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan, and his top generals] also planned to murder its Bengali intellectual, cultural, and political elite. They also planned to indiscriminately murder hundreds of thousands of its Hindus and drive the rest into India. And they planned to destroy its economic base to insure that it would be subordinate to West Pakistan for at least a generation to come. This plan may be perceived as genocide.[17]
1971–1977
A Pakistan International Airlines flight was sent to fetch Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from New York, who at that time was presenting Pakistan's case before the United Nations Security Council on the East Pakistan Crises. Bhutto returned home on 18 December 1971. On 20 December, he was taken to the President House in Rawalpindi where he took over two positions from Yahya Khan, one as President and the other as Chief Martial Law Administrator. Thus he was the first civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator of the Pakistan.1977–1999
In the mid-1970s the Pakistan Army was involved in fighting an uprising in Balochistan. Various Balochi factions, some with the oblique support of the USSR, wanted independence or at least greater provincial rights. The rebellion was put down on the behest of the Bhutto government but the Army suffered heavy casualties. After Bhutto was deposed, the province returned to normalcy under General Rahimuddin.
In the 1980s, Pakistani Armed Forces co-operated with the United States to provide arms, ammunition and intelligence assistance to Afghanistani freedom fighters who were fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
During the 1st Gulf War Pakistan Army contributed troops for the defence of Saudi Arabia against possible Iraqi retaliation. The 153 SP Air Defence Regiment deployed in Tabuk scored multiple hits on number of Iraqi Scuds and provided round the clock air defence protection to Saudi troops in the area.
1999–present
After the September 11 attacks in the United States, Pakistan joined the US-led War on Terror and helped the United States armed forces by severing ties with the Taliban and immediately deploying 72,000 troops along Pakistan's western border to capture or kill Taliban and al-Qaida militants fleeing from Afghanistan. On the north western front, Pakistan initially garrisoned its troops in military bases and forts in the tribal areas. In May 2004 clashes erupted between the Pakistani troops and al-Qaeda's and other militants joined by local rebels and pro-Taliban forces. However, the offensive was poorly coordinated and the Pakistan Army suffered heavy casualties, while public support for the attack quickly evaporated. After a two-year conflict from 2004 until 2006, the Pakistani military negotiated a ceasefire with the tribesmen from the region in which they pledged to hunt down al-Qaeda members, stop the Talibanisation of the region and stop attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the militants did not hold up their end of the bargain and began to regroup and rebuild their strength from the previous two years of conflict.
Militants took over the Lal Masjid in Islamabad. After a six-month standoff fighting erupted again in July 2007 when the Pakistani military decided to use force to end the Lal Masjid threat. Once the operation ended, the newly formed Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella group of all militants based in FATA, vowed revenge and launched a wave of attacks and suicide bombings which erupted all over North-West Pakistan and major Pakistani cities, including Karachi, throughout 2007.
The militants then expanded their base of operations and moved into the neighbouring Swat Valley, where they imposed Sharia law. The Pakistan Army launched an offensive to re-take the Swat Valley in 2007, but was unable to clear it of the militants who had fled into the mountains and waited for them to leave before taking over the valley again. The militants then launched another wave of terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. The Pakistani government and military tried another peace deal with the militants in Swat Valley in 2008. This was roundly criticised in the West as abdicating to the militants. After initially pledging to lay down their arms if Sharia Law was implemented, the Pakistani Taliban subsequently used the Swat Valley as a springboard to launch further attacks into neighbouring regions, reaching to within 60 kilometres (37 mi) of Islamabad.
Public opinion then turned decisively against the Taliban terrorists. This opinion was highlighted following the release of a video showing the flogging of a girl by the Pakistani Taliban in Swat Valley. Similar events and terrorist attacks finally forced the Pakistan Army to launch a decisive attack against the Taliban occupying Swat Valley in April 2009, after having received orders from the political leadership.[20] After heavy fighting the Swat Valley was largely pacified by July 2009, although isolated pockets of Taliban remained in the area.
The next phase of Pakistan Army's offensive was the formidable Waziristan region. A US drone attack killed the leader of the Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, in August. A power struggle engulfed the Taliban during September, but by October a new leader had emerged, Hakimullah Mehsud. Under his leadership, the Taliban launched another wave of terrorist attacks throughout Pakistan, killing hundreds of people. After a few weeks of air strikes, artillery and mortar attacks, 30,000 troops moved on South Waziristan, in a three pronged attack. The Pakistan Army re-took South Waziristan and is currently thinking of expanding the campaign to North Waziristan.
On April 2012 an avalanche struck the 6th Northern Light Infantry Battalion headquarters in Ghyari sector of Siachen, entrapping 135 soldiers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)