I Corps (Pakistan)

I Corps
Active1957; 67 years ago (1957)
Country Pakistan
Branch Pakistan Army
TypeXXX Corps
RoleManeuver/deployment oversight.
Size~45,000 approximately
(Though this may vary as units are rotated)
HQ/GarrisonMangla Cantonment, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan
Nickname(s)Mangla Corps[1]
Colors IdentificationRed, white and yellow
   
Anniversaries1957
EngagementsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
DecorationsMilitary Decorations of Pakistan military
Commanders
CommanderLt-Gen. Nauman Zakaria
Notable
commanders
Pervez Musharraf
Bakhtiar Rana
Nadeem Ahmad
Shamsur Rahman Kallu
Tariq Khan

The I Corps is a field corps of the Pakistan Army currently headquaretered in the Mangla Cantonment, Azad Kashmir in Pakistan.[2] Formed in 1957 as one of the tenth deployment and maneuver strike corps, it is a major ground formation and has seen deployments in the wars between India and Pakistan from 1965–71.: 64 [3]

Currently, it is commanded by Lieutenant-General Nauman Zakaria.[4]

Brief history

[edit]

Formations, deployments, and war service

[edit]

After fighting battles briefly with the Indian Army in Kashmir during the 1947–48, there was need for discipline and control of the military units from local headquarters than the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi.: 64 [3]

Initially, it was established in Abbottabad Cantonment in 1957 with Lt-Gen. Azam Khan becoming its first field commander with an objective to maneuver the ground formations more effectively against the larger opposing force.: 64 [3] Later headquartered in Mangla Cantonment in Kashmir to strengthen the national defense lines, it is the first field corps in order of precedence of the Pakistan Army.[5]

In 1965, the I Corps, under Lt-Gen. Bakhtiar Rana, was deployed and fought against the approaching Indian Army's advances during the war in 1965, almost commanding the entire Pakistan army's troops in Punjab and Kashmir.[6]

In 1971, the I Corps, now under the command of Lt-Gen. Irshad Ahmed, saw its military deployments in Shakargarh sector and was supported with two infantry divisions and an armored brigade to support the defenses of Pakistan's eastern border, the Punjab.: 48 [7] The 15th Infantry Division was on the left side of the Corps' frontage around Sialkot with the 8th Infantry Division on the right, and 8th Armored Brigade in support.: 48  Further back, the Corps was additionally supported by the Pakistan Army Reserves, enforced by the 6th Armored Division and 17th Infantry Division.: 48  The Indian Army planned a major attack in the sector, which was managed by I Corps, but when the war broke out, the lead Indian Army's formation, 54th Infantry Division, only managed to advance a few kilometers– a total of 13 kilometres (8 mi) in two weeks of operations.: 48 

Meanwhile, while the Indian army's attacks went on, the reserve formations did very little to respond tp such attack with the 6th Armored Division remained near Pasrur waiting for orders, while 17th Infantry Division had significant detachments sent off to 23rd Infantry Division on the left and IV Corps on the right.: 49 [8]

Yet the fighting in Shakargarh, while ultimately successful as the Indian army's aims were thwarted, resulted in 8th Armoured Brigade's heavy loss of armour and some territory was also lost.[9] As a result, its commander, Lt-Gen. Irshad Ahmed, was recommended for court martial and, later dismissal from his service.[9]

After the 1971 war with India, the I Corps has not seen military actions, and has been stationed in Mangla ever since and is well trained for forest warfare techniques.[9] As Pakistan's military strategic reserve, it was also not sent on overseas deployments under the United Nations with the allies.[10]

Structure

[edit]

Since 1971, the I Corps has not seen the military action but has supported through its units to enforce the Line of Control, on secondment to Northern Command. The I Corps is an integral in forming the Pakistan Army Reserves, and the other military units in supporting the I Corps are organized in formation known as the Army Reserves North.[10][6]

Its order of battle (ORBAT) is:

Structure of I Corps
Corps Corps HQ Corps Commander Assigned Units Unit Badge Unit HQ
I Corps Mangla Lt.Gen Nauman Zakaria
6th Armoured Division Gujranwala
17th Infantry Division Kharian
37th Infantry Division Kharian
Independent Infantry Brigade U/I Location
Independent Armoured Brigade U/I Location
Independent Artillery Brigade U/I Location
Independent Air Defence Brigade U/I Location
Independent Signal Brigade U/I Location
Independent Engineering Brigade U/I Location

List of commanders

[edit]
# Name Start of tenure End of tenure
1 Lt Gen Azam Khan July 1957 1958
2 Lt Gen Bakhtiar Rana 1958 1966
3 Lt Gen Abdul Hamid Khan 1966 March 1969
4 Lt Gen Tikka Khan March 1969 August 1969
5 Lt Gen Attiqur Rahman August 1969 February 1970
6 Lt Gen Irshad Ahmed Khan February 1970 1972
7 Lt Gen Abdul Ali Malik 1972 1974
8 Lt Gen Azmat Baksh Awan 1974 March 1976
9 Lt Gen Ghulam Hassan Khan March 1976 March 1980
10 Lt Gen Hafiz Ayan Ahmed March 1980 April 1981
11 Lt Gen Shah Rafi Alam April 1981 April 1982
12 Lt Gen Shamsur Rahman Kallu April 1982 April 1986
13 Lt Gen Mohammad Aslam Shah April 1986 May 1988
14 Lt Gen Zulfikar Akhtar Naz May 1988 May 1992
15 Lt Gen Khalid Latif Mughal May 1992 October 1995
16 Lt Gen Pervez Musharraf October 1995 October 1998
17 Lt Gen Saleem Haider October 1998 September 1999
18 Lt Gen Tauqir Zia September 1999 April 2001
19 Lt Gen Ghulam Mustafa April 2001 April 2002
20 Lt Gen Javed Alam Khan April 2002 April 2006
21 Lt Gen Sajjad Akram April 2006 April 2008
22 Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmad April 2008 April 2010
23 Lt Gen Mohammad Mustafa Khan April 2010 October 2010
24 Lt Gen Tariq Khan October 2010 October 2014
25 Lt Gen Hilal Hussain October 2014 September 2015
26 Lt Gen Umar Farooq Durrani September 2015 April 2017
27 Lt Gen Azhar Saleh Abbasi April 2017 October 2018
28 Lt Gen Nadeem Zaki Manj October 2018 November 2019
29 Lt Gen Shaheen Mazhar Mehmood November 2019 September 2022
30 Lt.Gen Ayman Bilal Safdar September 2022 May 2024
31 Lt Gen Nauman Zakaria May 2024 Incumbent

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Azhar Abbasi promoted, posted as Mangla Corps Commander". pakobserver.net. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  2. ^ "COAS Visits Mangla Garrison". www.hilal.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Fair, C. Christine (25 April 2014). Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War. Oxford University Press. p. 310. ISBN 978-0-19-989271-6. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  4. ^ Syed, Baqir Sajjad (11 May 2024). "Peshawar, Mangla corps commanders appointed". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  5. ^ Alam, Dr Shah (1 July 2012). Pakistan Army: Modernisation, Arms Procurement and Capacity Building. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-81411-79-7. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b "I Corps". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  7. ^ Gill, An Atlas of the 1971 India-Pakistan War, NESA (NDU), p.48
  8. ^ Gill, p.49
  9. ^ a b c Brian Cloughly, A History of Pakistan Army
  10. ^ a b "Strategic Reserves of Pakistan" (PDF). Centre for Land Warfare Studies. 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2023.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Cloughley, Brian (1999). A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections. Karachi, Sind, Pakistan: Karachi University Press. ISBN 9780195790153.
[edit]