Pakistan Army (Urdu: پاک فوج Pak Fauj (IPA: pɑk fɒ~ɔd͡ʒ); Reporting name: PA) is the land-based service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It came into existence after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) it had an active force of approximately 550,000 active personnel and 500,000 reserve personnel as of 2015.[1] The Constitution of Pakistan contains a provision for conscription for times of possible need, but it has never been imposed.
Since its establishment in 1947, the Army (along with its inter–services: the Navy, the Marines and the Air Force) has been involved in four wars with neighbouring India and several border skirmishes with Afghanistan.[2] Since 1947, it has also maintained a strong presence along with its inter-services in the Arab states during the past Arab-Israeli Wars, and aided the coalition in the first Gulf War. Recently, major joint-operations undertaken by the Army include Operation Zarb-e-Azb [3] Operation Toar-e-Tander (Black Thunderstorm) and Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path to Salvation).
The Army has also been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions, including playing a major role in rescuing trapped US soldiers in Operation Gothic Serpent in 1993. Under Article 243 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the President is appointed the civilian Commander-in-Chief. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), by statute a four-star general, is appointed by the President with the consultation and confirmation needed from the Prime Minister.[4] The Pakistan Army is currently commanded by General Raheel Sharif.
The Pakistan Army was created on the 30th of June of the year 1947 from the division of the British Indian Army. The then soon to be created Dominion of Pakistan received six armoured, eight artillery and eight infantry regiments compared to the twelve armoured, forty artillery and twenty-one infantry regiments that went to India. Fearing that India would take over the state of Kashmir, irregulars, scouts and tribal groups entered the Muslim majority state of Kashmir to oppose the Maharaja of Kashmir 1947. In response to this, the Maharaja acceded to India. The Indian Armed Forces were then deployed to Kashmir. This led to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. Regular Army units joined the invasion later on but were stopped after the refusal of the Chief of Army Staff, British officer General Sir Frank Messervy, to obey Pakistani leader Muhammed Ali Jinnah's orders to move the Army into Kashmir. A ceasefire followed on UN intervention with Pakistan occupying the northwestern part of Kashmir and India occupying the rest. Later, during the 1950s, the Pakistan Army received large amounts of economic and military aid from the United States and Great Britain after signing two mutual defence treaties, the Baghdad Pact, which led to the formation of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954. This aid greatly expanded the Pakistan Army from its modest beginnings.
The 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 included Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who would later become Pakistan's first democratically elected Prime Minister. Tensions with India flared in the 1960s and a brief border skirmish was fought near the Rann of Kutch area during April 1965. The War began after the failure of Operation Gibraltar on 5 August 1965. On the night of 6 September 1965, the Indian Army opened the war front to the Province of Punjab of Pakistan, The Indian Army almost reached near the Pakistani city of Lahore , Although The battle (Lahore Front) ended with an pakistani tactical victory. Indian forces lost 360[9]-500[10] sq. km. of Pakistani territory on the outskirts of Lahore.[11] However Indian forces halted their assault on Lahore once they had reached captured the village of Burki.[11][12][page needed][13][14] The rationale for this was that a ceasefire was to be signed soon, and had India captured Lahore it would likely have been returned in ceasefire negotiations.[12][page needed][13][14] The War eventually ended with a United Nations (UN) backed ceasefire and was followed by the Tashkent Declaration. According to the Library of Congress Country Studies conducted by the Federal Research Division of the United States–
The war was militarily inconclusive; each side held prisoners and some territory belonging to the other. Losses were relatively heavy—on the Pakistani side, twenty aircraft, 200 tanks, and 3,800 troops. Pakistan's army had been able to withstand Indian pressure, but a continuation of the fighting would only have led to further losses and ultimate defeat for Pakistan. Most Pakistanis, schooled in the belief of their own martial prowess, refused to accept the possibility of their country's military defeat by "Hindu India" and were, instead, quick to blame their failure to attain their military aims on what they considered to be the ineptitude of Ayub Khan and his government.[15]
At the time of ceasefire declaration, India reported casualties of about 3,000 killed. On the other hand, more than 4,000 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the battle.[16][17][18] Indian sources claim that about 471 Pakistani tanks were either destroyed or captured by India. India lost a total of 128 tanks during the conflict.[19][20]
However, most neutral assessments agree that India had the upper hand over Pakistan when ceasefire was declared.[21][22][23][24][25] At the end of the war the Indian army was in possession of 758.9 miles² (1,920 km²) of Pakistani territory and the Pakistan army held 210 mile² (550 km²) of Indian territory.[26] The territory occupied by India was mainly in the fertile Sialkot, Lahore and Kashmir sectors,[27][28] while Pakistani land gains were primarily south in deserts opposite to Sindh and in Chumb sector near Kashmir in north.[29] An uprising against General Ayub Khan during 1968 and 1969 resulted in Ayub Khan relinquishing his office as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Army in favour of General Yahya Khan, who assumed power in 1969. The 16th Division, 18th Division and the 23rd Division were raised at some point between 1966 and 1969 and the 9th Division was also re-raised during this period.
To have faith and trust in Allah and consider oneself:-
A follower of none but Allah.
And a follower of none but his messenger.
The concept of “no deity except Allah” is always alive in the Muslim’s heart. A Muslim recognizes that Allah alone is the Creator; their He alone is the Provider and Sustainer that He is the true Reality, the source of all things of all benefits and harms. This requires that He alone be worshiped and obeyed. “No deity except Allah” also includes the question of authority as the right to govern belongs to the One Who created him.
Belief in Allah’s messenger means accepting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as the last messenger sent by Him. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the spokesman for God by His authority. The duty of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was not only to deliver the message which Allah revealed but also to explain it and put it into practice as an example to be followed by mankind.
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Taqwa
Taqwa signifies:-
The fear of Allah.
Guarding ones tongue, hands and heart from evil.
Righteous, piety and good conduct.
Taqwa connotes the sense of protecting oneself from moral peril, preserving one’s virtue, and guarding oneself against the displeasure of Almighty. It is, thus, a kind of awareness or consciousness by means of which one protects oneself from sliding into evil.
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Jihad-fi-Sabilillah
The real objective of Islam is to shift the lordship of man over man to the lordship of Allah on the earth and to stake one's life and everything else to achieve this sacred purpose. The Arabic word “Jihad” means to struggle “or” to strive. In as much as “Jihad” is a struggle, it is a struggle against all that is perceived as evil in the cause of that which is perceived good, a cosmic and epic struggle spanning time and all dimensions of human thought and action, and transcending the physical universe. The Islamic Law regulates declaration of Jihad as also the limitations are imposed on its conduct. In Chapter II verse 190 of The Holy Quran the reference to the duty of the Muslims to “fight in the cause of God those who fight you and be not aggressors. God loveth not those who are aggressors”.
Motto Pakistan Army
The Muslims when they are engaged in fighting are not to transgress the limits within which war is allowed to be waged and, in principle, they are not to be cruel or become revengeful. The general command to be just and fair is discernible from Chapter V. Verse 8:
Oh, ye who believe
stand out firmly for God as witness
To fair dealings,
And let not the hatred of other people to you
make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice.
Be just, that is next to piety. And fear God,
Surely, Allah is aware of what you do
