Pakistani Armed Forces ORBAT, Part 1: Structure of Pakistani Army

“Most countries have an army, but Pakistan’s army has a country” is a popular saying which to be fair, is also somewhat true for many other unstable countries in Africa and the Middle-east. What makes Pakistan unique is how it’s armed forces have successfully controlled all aspects of the statecraft and internal politics for so long even during times a civilian government has been in power. Going through all those details will require a series of books, so we will keep focus just on facts related to Order Of Battle and other relevant details.

We’re going to start with basic army structure which has remained mostly unchanged from colonial times. Following is true for most armies of commonwealth nations though there are a few exceptions. Indian and Pakistani armed forces still follow largely similar structures with a few variations. Many of more powerful armies like American, Russian and Chinese have changed this quite a bit and operate under a different Combined Arms command structure. Certain units like Armour and Artillery may have somewhat different structure and manpower even within the same army. Additionally, most of this information is on a need to know basis and command and location of units keeps on changing which makes keeping a proper record or even having a somewhat detailed ORBAT of armed forces quite difficult for amateurs.

Tables in this post have a bit more details than map in the bottom. I’ll keep on updating it whenever possible.

If you’re a newbie, read this section about basic structure of an army like corps, Divisions, Battalions etc. first. If you’re already familiar with this, then you can skip this section.

BASIC UNITS OF AN ARMY

CORPS: Commanded by a 3 Star Lt General, a Corps may comprise of 2 or more divisions plus some independent brigades and other units. It’s the biggest fighting arm in all big armies and have specific roles in a geographic area like attack, defence or reserve. For example, India has Pivot and Strike Corps, where as Pakistan has Holding & Strike Corps for defence and attack roles respectively.

All Corps signs in Indian and Pakistani armies are red with a white stripe and a design in middle.

IMAGE 1: Some Pakistani army Corps insignia (globalsecurity.org)

DIVISION: A division is commanded by a 2 Star Major General and comprises 2-4 brigades, though 3 is a more common number. There are multiple types of divisions depending upon their role and deployment. For example there are Armoured Divisions, Infantry Divisions (Mechanised, Motorised, Mountain, Special Operations), Artillery Divisions, Engineer Divisions and Missile Divisions along with some composite arms divisions like Indian RAPIDS (Reorganised Army Plains Infantry Divisions). Infantry and Armoured divisions usually have at least one armoured and infantry brigade respectively along with some artillery units. Infantry divisions usually have more manpower than artillery and armoured divisions.

IMAGE 2: Some Pakistani army division insignias. (globalsecurity.org)

BRIGADE: A brigade is commanded by a 1 Star Brigadier and usually has 3 or more battalions plus some support units. A brigade can be a part of a division along with 2-3 other brigades or commanded directly by a Corps in case of an independent brigade. Like divisions, brigades too can be of multiple types.

BATTALION: A battalion is commanded by a Colonel and usually has 4 Companies. It is the smallest unit capable of independent combat operations. Most of infantry units and certain support arms like Supplies are organised in battalions.

COMPANY: A company is usually commanded by a Major or sometimes a Captain and can have 80-250 soldiers in three to six platoons. Certain types of specialised companies like air defence, medical, transport can be attached to a brigade or a division.

PLATOON: A platoon is the smallest military unit commanded by a commissioned officer, usually a Lieutenant or a junior commissioned officer (JCOs). It may have 30-40 soldiers.

SECTION: It is the smallest fighting unit for infantry and comprises of 10 soldiers with a NCO like Havildar in charge.

REGIMENT: This is a slightly confusing term, as it is both a fighting unit in case of most arms like armour, air defence and artillery and an administrative one in case of infantry which has multiple battalions under each regimental HQ. These are usually numbered in the order they were raised, although some of the older ones may have names. For example, Indian 2 Dogra means 2nd Battalion of Dogra Regiment, 7 Sindh means 7th Battalion of Pakistan’s Sindh Regiment.

Armour Corps regiments have 45-50 tanks (42-44 in case of Pakistan) are commanded by a Colonel, also called Commandant. Such a regiment may have 3-4 squadrons including one HQ squadron. Artillery and air defence regiments usually have 2-4 batteries ( 3 is most common) of multiple guns and launchers depending upon their type and role. All regiments have their own insignia, center and a fierce pride in their history and honours.

ORBAT OF PAKISTANI ARMY

This section details about about all army corps and some other units. Next post will have information about other aspects such as air defence , armour and regiments.

IMAGE 3: Basic Command Structure of Pakistani Army

I Corps

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	BRIGADES	LOCATION	REMARKS
I Corps			Mangla	AOR: Chicken Neck in Jammu & border areas around it.Strike Corps oriented towards Jammu & Pathankot
	6th Armoured Division		Gujranwala
		9th Armoured Brigade
		7th Armoured Brigade
		1st Armoured Brigade??		Assigned to some other division
		Army Aviation Brigade?		Wartime holding only
		SP Artillery Brigade?
	17th Infantry Division		Kharian
	37th Mech Infantry Division		Kharian
	11th Armoured Brigade (I)??			allocated to 6th Div in war
	?? Infantry Brigade			Partially mehcanised
	??Air Defence Brigade (I)??
	8th (I) Armoured Brigade?		Kharian	X or I Corps
	?? (I) Infantry Brigade
	?? (I) Artillery Brigade
	106th (I) Air Defence Brigade?
	?? (I) Signals Brigade Group
	314th Assault Engineers

TABLE 1: I Corps

II Corps

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	BRIGADES	LOCATION	REMARKS
II Corps			Multan	AOR:PunjabStrike Corps, Punjab region
	1st Armoured Division		Multan
	14th Infantry Division		Okara
	40th Infantry Division		Okara
	13th (I) Armoured Brigade?
	44th (I) Mech Infantry Brigade		Bahawalpur
	?? (I) Artillery Brigade
	?? (I) Air Defence Brigade
	?? (I) Signals Brigade Group
	5 MLRS Regiment
	WLR Regiment

TABLE 2: II Corps

IV Corps

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	BRIGADES	TYPE	LOCATION	REMARKS
IV Corps			Corps	Lahore	AOR: Narowal to Sulemankie, PunjabHolding Corps, Punjab region
	2nd Artillery Division		Artillery Division	Gujranwala
	10th Infantry Division		Infantry Division	Lahore
	11th Infantry Division		Infantry Division	Lahore
		21st Infantry Brigade	Infantry Brigade
		52nd Infantry Brigade	Infantry Brigade
		106th Infantry Brigade	Infantry Brigade
		?? Artillery Brigade
	212nd (I) Infantry Brigade		Ind Infantry Brigade	Lahore
	?? (I) Artillery Brigade
	3rd (I) Armoured Brigade ??
	?? (I) Signals Brigade Group

TABLE 3: IV Corps

V Corps

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	LOCATION	REMARKS
V Corps		Karachi	AOR: SindhHolding Corps
	16th Infantry Division	Pano Aqil
	18th Infantry Division	Hyderabad
	25th Mechanized Division	Malir
	105th (I) Infantry Brigade
	?? (I) Artillery Brigade
	?? (I) Armoured Brigade Group??
	?? (I) Signals Brigade Group

TABLE 4: V Corps

X Corps

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	BRIGADES	LOCATION	REMARKS
X Corps			Rawalpindi	AOR: J&KAttack role in north and POK60000 Mujhaid 40000 Janbaz Force irregulars
	Northern Areas Command		Gilgit	AOR: Dnasum, Khapalu, Siari and Skardu4 infantry brigades (12 inf battalion and 4 Mujahid battalions) + NLI DivApproximate location
		32nd Infantry Brigade ?	Kel
		62nd Infantry Birgade	Skardu
		80th Infantry Brigade	Minimarg
		323rd Infantry Brigade	Dansam
		150th Infantry Brigade ??	Gilgit	No source to confirm
	12th Infantry Division		Murree	15 Regular and 13 Mujahid battalion
		75th	Mandal, Lipa
		1st POK Brigade	Domel
		2nd POK Brigade	Rawalkot
		5th POK Brigade	Bagh
		6th POK Brigade	Bagh
	19th Infantry Division		Mangla
		?? Infantry Brigade
		?? Infantry Brigade
		?? Infantry Brigade
	23rd Infantry Division		Jhelum
		66th Infantry Brigade	Jhelum
		3rd POK Brigade	Kotli
		4th POK Brigade	Bhimber
		?? Armoured Regiment	Bhagowal
		1 R&S Battalion
		1 Missile Company
	Special Security Division		Chilas	9 regular army and 6 paramilitary infantry battalions?
	31st (I) Armoured/Mech Brigade?		Malir
	?? (I) Artillery Brigade
	111st (I) Infantry Brigade		Rawalpindi	Westridge, RawalpindiX Corps for VIP security & coups3 infantry battalions, 2 light artillery regiments, SSG battalion and 1 armoured regiment
	?? (I) Signals Brigade Group

	IRREGULARS
	Northern Light Infantry			17 Battalions. involved in Kargil. 35% from Baltistan, 55% Gilgit18% Sunni, 49% Shia
	Azad Kashmir Regiment			32 infantry battalions in 8 brigades, irregular
		1st AK Brigade	Muzaffarabad
		2nd AK Brigade	Rawalkot
		3rd AK Brigade	Tatta Pani	AOR: Rajouri, Poonch, Naushera and Sunderbani
		4th AK Brigade	Bandli
		5th AK Brigade	Dhani
		6th AK Brigade	Bagh
		7th AK Brigade	Bhimber
		32nd AK Brigade?	Kel

	Mujahid Force			640, 641, 647, 652, 654, 655, 656, 815, 834, 841, and 886 Battalions
		656th Battalion	Bhimber

TABLE 5: X Corps

XI Corps

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	BRIGADES	LOCATION	REMARKS
XI Corps			Peshawar	AOR: NWFP, Balochistan
	7th Infantry Division		Peshawar
	9th Infantry Division		Kohat
	?? (I) Armoured Brigade?
	?? (I) Artillery Brigade
	?? (I) Signals Brigade Group

TABLE 6: XI Corps

XII Corps

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	BRIGADES	LOCATION	REMARKS
XII Corps			Quetta	Reserve for V Corps in Thar area
	33rd Infantry Division		Quetta
		29th Infantry Brigade	Zhob
		60th Infantry Brigade	Sibi
		205th Infantry Brigade	Loralai
		Divisional artillery	Zhob
	41st Infantry Division		Quetta
	?? (I) Artillery Brigade
	?? (I) Armoured Brigade?
	?? (I) Mech Inf Brigade
	?? LAT Regiment
	?? (I) Signals Brigade Group

TABLE 7: XII Corps

XXX Corps

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	BRIGADES	LOCATION	REMARKS
XXX Corps			Gujranwala	AOR: Between Jhelum and Narowal,South of IV Corps boundary, Shakargarh bulge
	8th Infantry Division		Sialkot
	15th Infantry Division		Sialkot
	?? (I) Signals Brigade Group

TABLE 8: XXX Corps

XXXI Corps

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	LOCATION	REMARKS
XXXI Corps		Bahawalpur	AOR: Punjab
	26th Mechanized Division	Bahawalpur
	35th Infantry Division	Bahawalpur
	101st (I) Infantry Brigade
	10th or 13th (I) Armoured Brigade
	105th (I) Brigade group??
	?? (I) Artillery Brigade

TABLE 9: XXXI Corps

Air Defence Command

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	BRIGADES	LOCATION	REMARKS
Air Defence Command/Corps			Rawalpindi	AOR: Pakistan
	3rd Air Defence Division		Sargodha
		3rd Air Defence Brigade	Sargodha
		4th Air Defence Brigade	Lahore
	4th Air Defence Division		Malir
		109th Air Defence Brigade	Multan
	105th (I) Air Defence Brigade
	?? (I) Signals Brigade Group

TABLE: 10: Air Defence Command

Strategic Forces Command

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	BRIGADES	TYPE	LOCATION
Strategic Forces Command			Missile Corps	Rawalpindi
	21st Artillery Division		Missile Division	Pano Aqil
	22nd Artillery Division		Missile Division	Sargodha
	2nd Missile Group		Missile Group	Sargodha
	?? Missile Group,		Missile Group	Hyderabad?
	?? (I) Signals Brigade Group

TABLE 11: Strategic Forces Command for nuclear roles.

Special Services Group

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	BATTALIONS	LOCATION	REMARKS
Special Service Group			Cherat	8 battalions (with ~700 men), each has 4 companies? + 3 independent companies. Each company has 3 platoons and each platoon has 3 10 man sections.50 Airborne Division?
	?? SSG Brigade		Cherat
		5 Commando Battalion		Zilzaal
		6 Commando Battalion		Al-Samsaam
		7 Commando Battalion		Babrum
	Tarbela SSG Brigade		Tarbela	50 Airborne?Musa, Iqbal Buland Companies & Special Operation Task Force (SOTF)
		3 Commando Battalion	Powindah	Powindahs
		8 Commando Battalion	Islamabad	Al-Azb
		Zarrar Company
	11 SSG Brigade		Attock
		1 Commando Battalion ??	Tarbela, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Yaldram
		2 Commando Battalion	Rawalpindi,	Rahber
		4 Commando Battalion		Yalghar
	Janbaz Force		Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
	Akbar Company			Combat diver
	Zarrar Company			Counter Terrorism
	Iqbal Buland Company			Communications
	Airborne school		Peshawar
	Para Training School SSG		Grand Trunk Rd, Tahkal, Peshawar,	HQ SSGBasic Airborne , Jump master and Airborne Operation, High Altitude and Low Opening , Pathfindee and Parachute Packing and Maintenance Courses
	35 Light EME Battalion		Tarbela, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
	10 Light Commando Battalion ?		Mehfooz Shaheed Garrison Lahore
	Powindah SSG center?

TABLE 12: Special Service Group, Special forces

Frontier Corps

UNIT	SUBORDINATE UNITS	LOCATION	REMARKS
Frontier Corps			Paramilitary with 30000 troops.Commanded by Inspector General equivalent to Major General. Each unit commanded by Col/Lt Col
	Zhob Militia	Fort Sandeman	4 Wings at Zhob, Sambaza, Muslim Bagh and Qamardin Karaz
	Sibi Scouts	Sibi	contingents at Mach under the command of a major, 71 Wing at Dera Murad Jamali for protection of Chinese engineers
	Kalat Scouts	Kalat
	Makran Scouts	Turbat	Wing at Panjgur, Detachment at Sur-e-aab, Company at Grawag, Contingent at Kech, Wing at Mand
	Kharan Rifles	Lad Gasht	Mashkhel 84 Wing, Wing at Nokkundi
	Pishin Scouts	Pishin Fort
	Chaghai Militia
	Maiwand Rifles	Barkhan Town	Contingent at Kohlu
	Ghazaband Scouts
	Bhambore Rifles	Dera Bugti	Wing HQ at Sui
	Loralai Scouts	Sarduki	a company at Musakhe

TABLE 13: Frontier Corps, Paramilitary

Pakistan Army Divisions Insignias (globalsecurity.org)

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