ARMED FORCES OF PAKISTAN: SOLDIERS, WEAPONS, TRAINING

ARMED FORCES OF PAKISTAN

Pakistan has the world's sixth-largest armed forces, with 653,800 active personnel. Regarded as well trained and disciplined, the military is formally called the Pakistan Armed Forces. Branches of the military include the army, navy, air force, civil armed forces, and national guard. According to “Countries and Their Cultures”: The military of Pakistan consists of members from all ethnic groups within the country. Their duties have included participation in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping and nation-building activities in different areas of the world. Soldiers in the Pakistani Army are regular participants in the long-running dispute, sometimes resulting in violence, with India regarding sovereignty over Kashmir.”

Military and security forces: Pakistan Army (includes National Guard), Pakistan Navy (includes marines, Maritime Security Agency), Pakistan Air Force (Pakistan Fizaia); Ministry of Interior paramilitary forces: Frontier Corps, Pakistan Rangers (2019). The National Guard includes the Mujahid Force, the Janbaz Force, and the National Cadet Corps. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2020 =]

Military and security service personnel strengths: estimates of the size of the Pakistan military’s active force vary; approximately 650,000 active personnel (560,000 Army; 30,000 Navy; 60,000 Air Force); est.70,000 Frontier Corps; est. 25,000 Pakistan Rangers. =

According to the Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations: “In 2005, Pakistan’s armed forces totaled 619,000 active personnel. The army numbered 550,000 personnel, the navy 24,000, and the air force 45,000. Pakistan’s paramilitary forces had an active strength of 302,000 personnel that included the Frontier Corps (up to 65,000), a maritime security agency (estimated at 2,000), a national guard (185,000) and the Northern Light Infantry (estimated at 12,000). It is suspected that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal consisted of between 24 and 48 weapons, with the capability to produce more. [Source: Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Thomson Gale, 2007]

Military Leadership and Major Military Units in Pakistan

The key holder of power in the armed forces and, along with the president and the prime minister, one of the triumvirate that runs the country is the chief of the army staff (COAS) — formerly called the commander in chief. The COAS operates from army headquarters in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. From this position, both Ayub Khan and Zia seized power. Other senior staff positions, at the lieutenant general level, include a chief of general staff, who supervises army intelligence and operations; the master general of ordnance; the quartermaster general; the adjutant general; the inspector general for evaluation and training; and the military secretary. The headquarters function also includes the chief of the Corps of Engineers, the judge advocate general, and the comptroller of civilian personnel, all of whom report to the vice chief of the army staff. [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994 *]

The army, with 550,000 active personnel and 500,000 reserves, is organized into nine corps located at Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Karachi, Lahore, Mangla, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, and Rawalpindi. The Northern Area Command is headquartered at Gilgit and is directly responsible to army general headquarters. The army has 2 armored divisions, 19 infantry divisions including 1 area command, 9 corps artillery brigades, 26 independent brigades (7 armored, 1 mechanized, 6 infantry, 5 artillery, and 7 engineer), 3 armored reconnaissance regiments, 1 special forces group, and 1 air defense command. [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005 **]

The navy has 24,000 active personnel — including 1,400 marines and 2,000 in the Maritime Security Agency — and 5,000 reserves. The navy has four commands: fleet, logistics, naval installations in the north of Pakistan, and fleet headquarters at Karachi, the nation’s only major naval base. Two bases are under construction at Gwadar and Ormara. The air force has 45,000 active personnel and 8,000 reserves. Air force headquarters in Rawalpindi has directorates for operations, electronics, administration, and maintenance. The air force has three regional air commands: Northern (in Peshawar), Central (Sargodha), and Southern (Faisal).

Military Service and Personnel in Pakistan

Armed forces personnel (percentage of total labor force): 1.3 percent (compared to 9 percent in North Korea and 0.8 percent in the United States). [Source: World Bank worldbank.org ]

Number of people in the military: 653,800 (compared 74,200 in Argentina, 1,358,193 in the United States, 0 in Costa Rica, and 2,035,000 in China). In Pakistan, an additional 282,000 people are in paramilitary units, bringing the total to 935,800. [Source: 2019 edition of "The Military Balance" published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Wikipedia Wikipedia ]

Military Service: Military service is voluntary, and active-service personnel are liable for duty eight years after active service ends. Officers are obligated to serve until 50 years of age, other ranks until 45 years of age. Women serve in the military but are a numerical minority. [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005]

Military service age and obligation: 16-23 years of age for voluntary military service; soldiers cannot be deployed for combat until age 18; women serve in all three armed forces; reserve obligation to age 45 for enlisted men, age 50 for officers (2019) [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2020]

Army of Pakistan

The Pakistani army, with 560,000 active personnel and 500,000 reserves, is organized into nine corps located at Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Karachi, Lahore, Mangla, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, and Rawalpindi. The Northern Area Command is headquartered at Gilgit and is directly responsible to army general headquarters. The army has 2 armored divisions, 19 infantry divisions including 1 area command, 9 corps artillery brigades, 26 independent brigades (7 armored, 1 mechanized, 6 infantry, 5 artillery, and 7 engineer), 3 armored reconnaissance regiments, 1 special forces group, and 1 air defense command. [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005]

The nine army corps are : First Corps at Mangla; Second Corps at Multan; Fourth Corps at Lahore; Fifth Corps at Karachi; Tenth Corps at Rawalpindi; Eleventh Corps at Peshawar; Twelfth Corps at Quetta; Thirtieth Corps at Gujranwala; and Thirty-first Corps at Bahawalpur. There is also the Northern Area Command, headquartered at Gilgit, directly responsible to army general headquarters. Active army strength in 1994 was 520,000. In addition, there were 300,000 reserve personnel. Reserve status lasted for eight years after leaving active service or until age forty-five for enlisted men and age fifty for officers.*

Navy of Pakistan

The Pakistani navy has 30,000 active personnel — including 1,400 marines and 2,000 in the Maritime Security Agency — and 5,000 reserves. The navy has four commands: fleet, logistics, naval installations in the north of Pakistan, and fleet headquarters at Karachi, the nation’s only major naval base. Two bases are under construction at Gwadar and Ormara. [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005; CIA World Factbook, 2020]

In 2005, the navy had 24,000 personnel. In 1994 it had 22,000. . The force included a small Naval Air Arm and the approximately 2,000-member paramilitary Maritime Security Agency, charged primarily with protecting Pakistan's exclusive economic zone. The naval reserve consisted of about 5,000 personnel. [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994 *]

In the mid 2000s, major naval units included 8 tactical submarines, 7 frigates, 10 patrol/coastal vessels, and 3 mine warfare ships. The Navy's air arm included 9 maritime patrol aircraft and 12 antisubmarine warfare helicopters. [Source: “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations”, Thomson Gale, 2007]

In 1994 the navy had four commands: COMPAK — the fleet; COMLOG — logistics; COMFORNAV — naval installations in the north of Pakistan; and COMKAR — naval headquarters and the only major base at Karachi. There were long-range plans to build a new naval base at Ormara, 240 kilometers west of Karachi, and to improve harbors at Gwadar and Pasni to help alleviate overdependence on Karachi.*

The navy's principal combatants in 1994 were six submarines of French origin equipped with United States Harpoon missiles; negotiations with the French for three additional submarines have been reported. The navy had three active old destroyers (one of British and two of United States origin), four United States-made guided missile frigates, six other frigates (two from Britain and four from the United States), and two United States-made and one French-made mine warfare craft. One destroyer and four frigates carried Harpoon missiles; the navy had acquired an unknown number of Mistral close-in surface-to-air missiles from France. There were eight missile craft, and thirteen coastal combatant and patrol craft, all of Chinese origin. The Naval Air Arm had four combat aircraft flown by air force personnel and armed with Exocet missiles and sixteen armed helicopters. The delivery of three P-3C Orion long-range reconnaissance aircraft from the United States had been suspended since 1990. In 1991 a naval special warfare marine commando unit, with a strength of between 150 and 200 men, was established. Its functions, in addition to hull inspection and special operations, included operating three midget submarines.*

Although the navy clearly needed to grow, its immediate future was threatened by a reduction in equipment brought about by the Pressler Amendment imposed in 1990. The Pakistan Navy had to return four Brooke (Badr)-class and four Garcia (Saif)-class frigates to the United States at the end of their five-year lease. In addition, one British-made destroyer, the Babur, was retired in 1994. At the same time, all three United States destroyers became fully operational, and an additional six Amazon-class frigates purchased from Britain were to be delivered in late 1994.*

Air Force of Pakistan

The Pakistani air force has 60,000 active personnel and 8,000 reserves. In 2004 and 1994 the Pakistan Air Force had 45,000 active personnel and 8,000 reserve personnel. Air force headquarters in Rawalpindi has directorates for operations, electronics, administration, and maintenance. The air force has three regional air commands: Northern (in Peshawar), Central (Sargodha), and Southern (Faisal). [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005 **]

The Air Force's primary striking force was made up of 331 combat capable aircraft, which included 143 fighters and over 51 fighter ground attack aircraft. [Source: “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations”, Thomson Gale, 2007]

In 1994 the air force was organized into eighteen squadrons, with a total of 430 combat aircraft. The mainstay of the air force was the F-16 fighter. Of the forty aircraft originally acquired, thirty-four were in service, divided among three squadrons. Some were reportedly grounded because of a lack of spare parts resulting from the 1990 United States suspension of military transfers to Pakistan (see The United States and the West). Pakistan had an additional seventy-one F-16s on order, but delivery has been suspended since 1990. Other interceptors included 100 Chinese J-6s (which were scheduled to be phased out) and eighty J-7s, organized into four squadrons and two squadrons, respectively. Air-to-air missiles included the Sparrow, Sidewinder, and Magic. [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994 *]

The air force had a ground-attack role. The air force had three squadrons of Chinese Q-5s (a total of fifty aircraft) as well as one squadron of eighteen Mirage IIIs and three squadrons (fifty-eight aircraft) of Mirage 5s, one squadron of which was equipped with Exocet missiles and was deployed in an antiship role.*

In 1994 Pakistan took out of storage thirty of forty-eight Mirage IIIs that it had originally acquired from Australia; the Mirages were grouped into a fighter squadron. Additionally, Pakistan's Mirage 5s were scheduled to be upgraded with French assistance. The backbone of the transport fleet was formed by twelve C130 Hercules, which had recently been upgraded; plans to acquire more were stymied by the dispute with the United States over Pakistan's nuclear program. There were also smaller transport aircraft and a variety of reconnaissance aircraft.*

Paramilitary Forces of Pakistan

In addition to the regular army, the armed forced also rely on ISI intelligence forces, paramilitary groups like the Rangers and friendly militias such as the Frontier Constabulary. The central government (specifically the Ministry of Interior) controls the coast guard, paramilitary forces, and numerous specialized police agencies, such as the Federal Investigative Agency and railroad and airport police forces. However, provincial governments organize paramilitary forces, which often act as an extension of the army to assist provincial police in internal security matters. In addition, senior government officials often have strong control over security forces and have at times established personal security forces.

Pakistan's paramilitary forces had an active strength of 302,000 personnel. The largest paramilitary organization is the 185,000-member National Guard, which comprises the National Cadet Corps, the Women Guards, and the Janbaz Force. The Frontier Corps reportedly has 70,000 members and is responsible for Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province). The Pakistan Rangers has 25,000 to 40,000 members and deals with unrest in Punjab. The Northern Light Infantry has an estimated 12,000 members, and the Maritime Security Agency, which is under the navy’s direction, has an estimated 2,000 personnel. [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005; CIA World Factbook, 2020]

Paramilitary organizations have traditionally mainly of symbolic importance. The National Guard, comprising the Janbaz Force — locally recruited militia mainly charged with air defense — and two programs similar to the United States Reserve Officers Training Corps, the National Cadet Corps and the Women Guard. The Women Guard, unlike the National Cadet Corps, included individuals trained in nursing, welfare, and clerical work. There were also some women in the Janbaz Force, and a very small number of women were recruited into the regular service in limited numbers to perform medical and educational work. [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994 *]

Paramilitary internal security forces were organized on the provincial level but were subordinate to the Ministry of Interior and were commanded by seconded army generals. These forces were in effect an extension of the army for internal security duties. The Pakistan Rangers, headquartered in Lahore, dealt with unrest in Punjab, while the Mehran Force performed similar functions in Sindh. In 1994 their strengths were 25,000 and 24,000, respectively, divided into "wings" of approximately 800 men each. The Frontier Corps, with a strength of 65,000, was based in Peshawar and Quetta with responsibility for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province) and Balochistan. The corps was responsible to both the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions and to army headquarters. The corps was divided into twenty-seven local units — fourteen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province) and thirteen in Balochistan — and included the Chitral Scouts, the Khyber Rifles, the Kurram Militia, the Tochi Scouts, the South Waziristan Scouts, the Zhob Militia, and the Gilgit Scouts. There was also a Coast Guard, subordinate to the Ministry of Interior and staffed by army personnel.*

In times of natural disaster, such as the great floods of 1992, army engineers, medical and logistics personnel, and the armed forces played a major role in bringing relief and supplies. The army also engaged in extensive economic activities. Most of these enterprises, such as stud and dairy farms, were for the army's own use, but others performed functions beneficial to the local civilian economy. Army factories produced such goods as sugar, fertilizer, and brass castings and sold them to civilian consumers.*

Several army organizations performed functions that were important to the civilian sector across the country. For example, the National Logistics Cell was responsible for trucking food and other goods across the country; the Frontier Works Organization built the Karakoram Highway to China; and the Special Communication Organization maintained communications networks in remote parts of Pakistan.*

Soldiers in Pakistan

The military offers some of the best jobs in Pakistan. It consumes much of the national budget, offers opportunities to get ahead in life and offers business opportunities and provide many perks and privileges. Pay scales and benefits for enlisted personnel are attractive by Pakistani standards. Officer pay is substantially higher.

Pakistani military uniforms closely resemble those of the British armed services. The principal colors are greenish brown for the army, navy blue for the navy, and light blue for the air force. Brown and black camouflage fatigues are commonly worn by army troop units. Rank insignia also are similar to those used by the British. [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994 *]

The rank structure is also patterned on the British model. Following the British Indian tradition, there are three junior commissioned officer (JCO) grades between enlisted and officer rank for those who rise by promotion from among enlisted recruits. The junior commissioned officer is a continuation of the former viceroy's commissioned officer rank. During the early days of the Pakistan Army, there was a large cultural gap between officers and enlisted personnel. In the early 1990s, JCOs had wide responsibilities in the day-to-day supervision of lower grades, but they were a group that may have outlived its usefulness because officers have become "more Pakistani" and less dependent on British models and because the education level of enlisted men has risen. Promotion to JCO rank, however, remains a powerful incentive for enlisted personnel; thus, if JCO ranks are ever phased out, it will likely be a slow process.*

In the 2000s, women kind of served in the military as air marshals on Pakistani jetliners. These women finished a 10-week training program that involved martial arts, hand-to-hand combat, that was so hard 40 men who took it dropped out. Only one woman failed to finish and that was because she broke her wrist. Air marshals work on domestic and international flight to thwart terrorist attacks. They are part of the national airport police.

The manpower base of Pakistan is more than adequate to maintain force levels that the country can afford. In 1994 there were an estimated 6.4 million men and 5.7 million women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two and another 10 million men and 9 million women between the ages of twenty-three and thirty-two. About two-thirds of the individuals in these groups were estimated to be physically fit for service. Although there is provision for conscription, it has not proven necessary because there are more than enough volunteers for a profession that is both honored and, by Pakistani standards, financially rewarding. *

Military Training in Pakistan

Although recruitment is nationwide and the army attempts to maintain an ethnic balance, most recruits, as in British times, come from a few districts in northern Punjab Province and the adjacent North-West Frontier Province. Most enlisted personnel come from rural families, and although they must have passed the sixth-grade level in school, many have only rudimentary literacy skills and very limited awareness of the modern-day skills needed in a contemporary army (see Education). [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994 *]

Recruits are processed gradually through a paternalistically run regimental training center, perhaps learning to wear boots for the first time, taught the official language, Urdu, if necessary, and given a period of elementary education before their military training actually starts. In the thirty-six-week training period, they develop an attachment to the regiment they will remain with through much of their careers and begin to develop a sense of being a Pakistani rather than primarily a member of a tribe or a village.

Stephen P. Cohen, a political scientist specializing in military affairs, has noted that the army "encourages the jawan (basic private) to regard his regiment and his unit as his home or substitute village; and it invests a great deal of time and effort into . . . `man management,' hoping to compensate in part for generally inferior military technology by very highly disciplined and motivated soldiers." Enlisted men usually serve for fifteen years, during which they participate in regular training cycles and have the opportunity to take academic courses to help them advance.*

The army has over a dozen training establishments, including schools concentrating on specific skills such as artillery, intelligence, or mountain warfare. Plans are being drawn up for the National University of Science and Technology, which would subsume the existing colleges of engineering, signals, and electrical engineering.

Officers in the Pakistan Military

Officer pay is substantially higher than that of enlisted men, but with inflation and a generally expanding economy, officers find it harder to make do and feel that they are falling well behind their civilian counterparts in the civil service, where salaries are somewhat higher and the opportunities for gain considerably greater. [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994 *]

About 320 men enter the army annually through the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul (See Below); a small number — especially physicians and technical specialists — are directly recruited, and these persons are part of the heart of the officer corps. They, too, are overwhelmingly from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province) and of middle-class, rural backgrounds. The product of a highly competitive selection process, members of the officer corps have completed ten years of education and spend two years at the Pakistan Military Academy, with their time divided about equally between military training and academic work to bring them up to a baccalaureate education level, which includes English-language skills. There are similar programs for the navy at Rahbar (in Karachi) and for the air force at Sarghoda.

Officers retire between the ages of fifty-two and sixty, depending on their rank. The retirement age for enlisted personnel varies similarly according to grade. Retirement pay is modest, especially for enlisted men, but the armed services find ways to make the retiree's lot easier. Especially during periods of martial law, retired senior officers have found second, financially rewarding careers in government-controlled organizations. Land grants to retired officers have been common, and scholarships and medical care are available on a relatively generous basis. In the event of an officer's death on active duty, certain provisions, including grants of free housing, are often extended to his family.*

Officer Training in the Pakistan Military

At the apex of the army training system is the Command and Staff College at Quetta, one of the few institutions inherited from the colonial period. The college offers a ten-month course in tactics, staff duties, administration, and command functions through the division level. Students from foreign countries, including the United States, have attended the school but reportedly have been critical of its narrow focus and failure to encourage speculative thinking or to give adequate attention to less glamorous subjects, such as logistics. The air force has an advanced technical training facility at Qurangi Creek near Karachi for courses in aeronautical engineering, and the navy's technical training is carried out at Karsaz Naval Station in Karachi.*

The senior training institution for all service branches is the National Defence College at Rawalpindi, which was established in 1978 to provide training in higher military strategy for senior officers. It also offers courses that allow civilians to explore the broader aspects of national security. In a program begun in the 1980s to upgrade the intellectual standards of the officer corps and increase awareness of the wider world, a small group of officers, has been detailed to academic training, achieving master's degrees and even doctorates at universities in Pakistan and abroad.*

Pakistani officers were sent abroad during the 1950s and into the 1960s for training in Britain and other Commonwealth countries, and especially to the United States, where trainees numbering well in the hundreds attended a full range of institutions ranging from armored and infantry schools to the higher staff and command institutions. After 1961 this training was coordinated under the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, but numbers varied along with vicissitudes in the United States-Pakistan military relationship. Of some 200 officers being sent abroad annually in the 1980s, over two-thirds went to the United States, but the cessation of United States aid in 1990 entailed suspension of the IMET program. In 1994 virtually all foreign training was in Commonwealth countries.*

Pakistan Military Academy

The Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, 110 kilometers (70 miles northeast of Islamabad,) looks like something out of the British Raj era. It has cricket fields, polo grounds, tennis courts, manicured lawns, and a high-ceiling mess hall where cadets eat on linen table clothes and are served by turbaned waiters. The only thing that give it away as being in Pakistan are the Muslim blessings and the ban on alcohol.

About 1,500 students are enrolled for a two year course at the Pakistan Military Academy. To graduate cadets must run a mile in less than six minutes, do a hundred each of push ups and sit up and brutally beat up one another in the boxing ring. The climax of their training is the Acid Test, in which they must run nine miles in full gear in 95̊heat, traverse mountains with logs on their shoulders and negotiate an obstacle course that involves climbing walls, sloshing though a swamp and swinging over ditches.

The Pakistan Military Academy and the Pakistan military in general are modeled after the British military. British traditions remain so much alive that officers take their regimental silver with them when go aboard to serve on peacekeeping missions. The Pakistan Military Academy is in Abbotabad Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province), the same place where Osama bin-Laden was found hiding and killed.

Military Justice in Pakistan

The military justice system rests on three similar service laws: the Pakistan Army Act (1952), the Pakistan Air Force Act (1953), and the Pakistan Navy Ordinance (1961). The acts are administered by the individual services under the central supervision of the Ministry of Defence. [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994 *]

The army has a four-tier system; the air force and navy, three-tier systems. The top two levels of all three systems are the general courts-martial and district courts-martial; the third level comprises the field general courts-martial in the army and air force and the equivalent summary general courts-martial in the navy. The army also has a further level, the summary courtsmartial.*

The differences in court levels reflect whether their competence extends to officers or enlisted men only and the severity of the punishment that may be imposed. Sentences of military courts must be approved by the convening authority, that is, the commanding general of the organization concerned. Every decision of a court-martial higher than summary court-martial level must be concurred in by a majority of the members of the court; where a vote is split evenly, the law provides that the "decision shall be in favor of the accused." There is a right of appeal within the military court system, but no civilian court has the right to question the judgment of a military court. In cases where a military person is alleged to have committed a crime against a civilian, the central government determines whether military or civilian courts have jurisdiction. Double jeopardy is prohibited. Former servicemen in civilian life who are accused of felonies committed while on active duty are liable for prosecution under the jurisdiction of military courts. These courts are empowered to mete out a wide range of punishments — including death. All sentences of imprisonment are served in military prisons or detention barracks.*

In contrast to the civilian court system, the introduction of Islamic law (sharia) has had little effect on the military justice system. The Federal Shariat Court has, however, ordered the military to make more liberal provisions to appeal, to confront witnesses, and to show just cause (see Justice System). It was not clear in early 1994 what practical effect these directives have had.*

Weapons and Military Hardware in Pakistan

Main battle tanks: 2,433; Frigates: 9; Non-nuclear Submarines: 8; Military aircraft: 413; Attack helicopters: 194; Nuclear weapons: 160; Military satellites: 0. [Source: Wikipedia 2020]

The Army's major weapons systems include attack helicopters, battle tanks, 1,266 armored personnel carriers and over 4,291 artillery pieces. By one estimate the cost of tank is enough to build 50 schools.

The Pakistan air force’s combat aircraft include Mirage-15 IIIEP, Mirage 5 and F-16B. The F-16s can carry nuclear weapons. The French have helped Pakistan build an Agosta B-90 submarine. In 2003, Pakistan promised that it will not arm the subs with nuclear weapons.

In 2004 the army had an estimated 2,461 tanks, 1,146 armored personnel carriers, 1,829 tube-launched optically-tracked wire-guided “TOW” missiles, 260 selfpropelled artillery, 52 multiple rocket launchers, 2,350 mortars, 165 surface-to-surface missiles, 10,500 antitank guided weapons, and 1,900 air defense guns. The army also had 80 observation aircraft, 45 liaison aircraft, 2 survey aircraft, 22 attack helicopters, and 131 transport helicopters. The navy had 8 anti-surface warfare submarines, 3 inshore submarines, 7 frigates, 6 missile craft, 3 coastal patrol craft, 6 combat aircraft, and 9 armed helicopters. The air force had 415 combat aircraft and no armed helicopters. Pakistan became a nuclear state in 1998 and periodically tests nuclear-capable short- and medium-range missiles. [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005]

In 1994 major weapons included nearly 2,000 tanks (mainly Chinese but also 120 M-47s and 280 M-48A5s of United States origin), 820 M-113 armored personnel carriers, 1,566 towed artillery pieces, 240 self-propelled artillery pieces, 45 multiple rocket launchers, 725 mortars, 800 Cobra, TOW, and Green Arrow antitank guided weapons, eighteen Hatf surface-to-surface missiles, 2,000 air defense guns, and 350 Stinger and Redeye missiles and 500 Anza surface-to-air missiles. The army's combat aircraft inventory consisted of twenty AH-1F airplanes equipped with TOW missiles. [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994]

Pakistan’s Military and Weapons Suppliers

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions: the Pakistan military inventory includes a broad mix of equipment, primarily from China, France, Ukraine, the UK, and the US; since 2010, China and the US are the leading suppliers of arms to Pakistan. (2019 est.) [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2020]

In the old days The United States sold Pakistan and the Soviet Union sold to India. In recent years the United States has been selling to both sides. In 2004, the Pentagon announced it was going to sell Pakistan US$1.2 billion worth of arms, including P3-C Orion surveillance planes. Around the same time it was revealed that the U.S. was selling C-130J cargo planes to India.

In the 1980s Pakistan paid for US$650 million for 28 F-16s but never received them as a punishment meted out in 1990 for developing nuclear weapons. It took eight years for Pakistan to get its money back. In March 2005, the U.S. gave Pakistan the go ahead on purchasing two dozen F-16s that Pakistan had ordered in the 1980s. Pakistan received newer model F-16s than those ordered in the 1980s. At the same time the United States gave American defense contractors approval to pursue business with India, including the sale of F-16s and F-18s.

According to “Countries of the World and Their Leaders”: “Pakistan has had an increasingly difficult time maintaining its aging fleet of U.S., Chinese, U.K., and French equipment. While industrial capabilities have expanded significantly, limited budget resources and sanctions have significantly constrained the government's efforts to modernize its armed forces. [Source: Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook 2009, Gale]

“Until 1990, the United States provided military aid to Pakistan to modernize its conventional defensive capability. The United States allocated about 40 percent of its assistance package to non-reimbursable credits for military purchases, the third-largest program behind Israel and Egypt. The remainder of the aid program was devoted to economic assistance. Sanctions put in place in 1990 denied Pakistan further military assistance due to the discovery of its program to develop nuclear weapons. Sanctions were tightened following Pakistan's nuclear tests in response to India's May 1998 tests and the military coup of 1999. Pakistan has remained a non-signatory of the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty.

“The events of September 11, 2001, and Pakistan's agreement to support the United States led to a waiver of the sanctions, and military assistance resumed to provide spare parts and equipment to enhance Pakistan's capacity to police its western border with Afghanistan and address its legitimate security concerns. In 2003, President Bush announced that the United States would provide Pakistan with US$3 billion in economic and military aid over 5 years. This assistance package commenced during FY 2005.

Military Production in Pakistan

Pakistan also has a large domestic defense industry capable of upgrading existing air, land, and sea weapons systems. The country began with virtually no military production capability, and, because of its limited economic means and lack of foreign markets, there is little prospect of the country's ever developing industrial facilities that could cover its equipment needs. However, it has taken a series of partial steps in some of the most crucial fields and aspired to become selfsufficient , at least in such basic areas as aircraft overhaul and modernization and tank and helicopter sales. Symbolic of Pakistan's determination to move to a degree of self-sufficiency was the creation of the Ministry of Defence Production in September 1991. [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994 *]

The Ministry of Defence Production has been responsible for promoting and coordinating a patchwork of military production facilities that have developed since independence. The oldest of these facilities is the Pakistan Ordnance Factory at Wah Cantonment, near Rawalpindi, established in 1951, to produce small arms, ammunition, and explosives. During the period of reliance on United States supply, there was little attention given to domestic production, but after the assistance cutoffs in 1965 and 1971, Pakistan — with China's help — set about expanding its facilities, including the modernization of Wah. The Heavy Industries at Taxila was established in 1971 as an equipment rebuilding facility, followed in 1973 by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra, north of Islamabad. The air force assembled Chinese F-6s and French Mirages; produced the Mushshak trainer, which was based on the Swedish SAAB Safari/Supporter; maintained radar and avionics equipment; and in the mid-1990s was in the process of developing the Karakorum jet trainer in a joint project with China.*

The ministry also includes seven other specialized organizations devoted to research and development, production, and administration. Total personnel strength in 1993 was more than 50,000, including 2,600 professionals. The government estimated annual production in the early 1990s at US$500 million including about US$30 million in exports. For example, Mushshaks were provided to Iran as light trainers and observation aircraft. Exports ranked high among the ministry's goals.*

The navy is supported mainly by a facility at the Karachi Shipyard, which has limited production capacity and in 1994 had to its credit only an 831-ton tanker and a prototype 200-ton coastal patrol vessel. In 1987 development of a submarine repair and rebuild facility at Port Qasim was begun.*

Peacekeepers from Pakistan

Pakistanis have regularly served in United Nations peacekeeping missions. In the mid 2000s, Pakistan was a participant in UN and peacekeeping operations in 10 countries or regions.

Military deployments: 1,240 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 2,030 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 130 Mali (MINUSMA); 900 Sudan (UNAMID) (April 2020) [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2020]

In 2013, Bangladesh was the biggest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, with more than 8,000 personnel, followed by Pakistan and India.

In 2004 Pakistan’s military participated in United Nations peacekeeping missions in Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire (9 personnel including 3 observers), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1,092 personnel including 26 observers), East Timor (78 personnel including 5 observers), Georgia (8 observers), Liberia (2,762 personnel including 16 observers), Sierra Leone (3,865 personnel including 15 observers), Serbia and Montenegro (1 observer), and Western Sahara (7 observers). [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005]

The first U.N. peacekeeping troops from Pakistan served in West Irian (as Indonesia's Irian Jaya Province was then called) in the 1962-63 period. In early 1994, Pakistan contributed two infantry battalions to the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNPROFOR BH) and two infantry brigades to the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). Pakistan's contribution of 7,150 troops to UNOSOM was the largest single national contingent in any UN peacekeeping force in early 1994. At the time, Pakistan also had participating observers in a number of other UN missions in Croatia, the Iraq-Kuwait demilitarized border zones, Liberia, Mozambique, and Western Sahara. Pakistan also dispatched an armored brigade to Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. However, it was assigned well away from the front — ostensibly to defend the holy cities of Mecca and Medina — thus reducing the possibility that any Pakistani troops might have somehow become involved in actual combat with Iraqi troops. Such an eventuality could have proven explosive in Pakistan and could have caused uncontrollable unrest. Pakistani sentiment in favor of Iraq was widespread, and even General Beg spoke out in support of Saddam Husayn.) [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994]

Pakistan’s Foreign Military Relations

The military and public generally view India as the nation’s primary security threat, and opposition to India is often a greater source of social cohesion than either Islam or Urdu. India’s far greater military capabilities have been a source of both fear and frustration, and many suspect that this imbalance has prompted Pakistan to engage Indian forces indirectly through supporting insurgents morally, financially, or otherwise. Whether Pakistan has done so is debated, but it seems clear that the country’s newly demonstrated nuclear capabilities have helped level military differences with its rival neighbor. Yet India is not the country’s only security concern, as Pashtun and Baloch irredentist movements in Pakistan’s western provinces have contributed to sometimes-tense relations with neighboring Afghanistan. [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005]

Pakistan has sought to become an important actor in international politics, but its foreign military alliances often are intended to address matters with bordering countries. Other countries have established alliances with Pakistan to address their own strategic interests in South and Central Asia, and these alliances have tended to be ephemeral. Pakistan’s military relationship with China started in the 1970s as a way of countering India, but China has softened its relations since India’s military strength has increased. Still, Pakistan and China maintain a military relationship, including periodic joint military exercises.

United States aid in the 1980s was significantly reduced after the Soviet Union pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989 but resumed after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Moreover, in March 2004 the United States granted Pakistan status as a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, which provides access to U.S. military equipment and cooperation. In fact, the United States is one of the largest suppliers of military equipment to Pakistan along with China and Russia. Pakistan’s military relations with India have been contentious, and the two countries fought a limited conflict in Kashmir in 1999. However, under the 1999 Lahore Agreement the two countries provide each other with advance notification of missile tests, and in 2003 and 2004 they engaged in several high-level discussions that have eased tensions.

Foreign Military Forces: Pakistan hosts 45 military observers from nine countries stationed in Jammu and Kashmir under the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). U.S. military forces occasionally work with Pakistan’s military against insurgents supporting the Taliban and al Qaeda in areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (tourism.gov.pk), Official Gateway to the Government of Pakistan (pakistan.gov.pk), The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Wikipedia and various books, websites and other publications.

Last updated February 2022