The II Corps is a field corps of the Pakistan Army headquartered in Multan Cantonment, Punjab in Pakistan. It is one the ten maneuver corps formations of the Pakistani military which has seen deployments against the Indian Army in 1971 towards east and the Afghan war to enforce national defenses in west of Pakistan.
The corps is currently commanded by Lieutenant-General Ahsan Gulrez.
History
In 1967, the II Corps formation was raised and established with its initial headquarters in Multan Cantonment, Punjab in Pakistan.
The II Corps was the third formation that was established by the Pakistan Army after the war with India in 1965 as a necessity of corps formations were being earnestly felt by the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi. The military leadership at that time wanted more decentralization of the land units, therefore intermediates between divisions and the Army GHQ were to be created and it were more corps headquarters.
War services and deployments
The II Corps saw its first field service under the command of Lt-Gen. Tikka Khan in 1971 against the approaching Indian Army.Brian Cloughley- A History of the Pakistan Army, Page 205-207. Soon after its deployment, the controversy in military strategy started when the 18th Infantry Division was moved out II Corps' formation and deployed in ill-fated offensive towards the Ramgarh sector; which led to the disaster at the Battle of Longewala. The Army GHQ, working under Gen. Yahya Khan, had taken the control of the 18th Infantry Division rather than the II Corps which contributed to its failure in its mission.
The II Corps repelled a major attack mounted by the Indian Army towards the Umerkot; the 18th Infantry Division later returned to II Corps control from Ramgarh sector alongside the 33rd Infantry Division.Brian Cloughley- A History of the Pakistan Army, Page 206. In the final analysis of its performance in the war; while commended by many parties, would be controversial, since at no time was its most powerful formation, 1st Armored Division, committed to action.Brian Cloughley- A History of the Pakistan Army, , Page 200.
After the 1971, the II Corps has not seen military deployment, and as akin to I Corps (specialized in Forest warfare), it is well suited for Desert warfare. The II Corps is also a Pakistan's land-based main strategic reserve, and has not seen overseas deployment under United Nations.
The II Corps supported the national lines of defense in Western Pakistan in 2009 when it provided its infantry and mechanized divisions in support of the Operation Zalzala (lit. Earthquake) against the Uzbek militants in Western Pakistan. Daily Times Article The 14th Infantry Division eventually cleared the Uzbeks and other foreign fighters from the area, and brought back the area under the wrist of Government of Pakistan. On 26 December 2008, the 14th Infantry Division was redeployed to the II Corps to strengthened the lines of defenses of Pakistan's eastern border with India.
Structure The II Corps is an integral in forming the Pakistan Army Reserves, and the other military units in supporting the II Corps are organized in formation known as the Army Reserves South. The II Corps' order of battle (ORBAT) is followed as:Global Security
Corps II Commander, MultanLt.Gen Ahsan Gulrez StructureAssigned UnitsUnit BadgeUnit HQ1st Armoured Division Multan40th Infantry DivisionOkara Independent Infantry Brigade U/I LocationIndependent Armoured Brigade U/I LocationIndependent Artillery Brigade OkaraIndependent Air Defence Brigade U/I LocationIndependent Signal Brigade U/I LocationIndependent Engineering Brigade U/I Location
List of corps commanders #NameStart of tenureEnd of tenure1Lt Gen Khwaja Wasiuddin1967September 19712Lt Gen Tikka KhanSeptember 1971March 19723Lt Gen Muhammad ShariffMarch 197219754Lt Gen Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq1975March 19765Lt Gen Rahimuddin KhanSeptember 1978March 19846Lt Gen Raja Saroop KhanMarch 1984March 19887Lt Gen Shamim Alam KhanMarch 1988May 19898Lt Gen Hamid GulMay 1989January 19929Lt Gen Jehangir KaramatJanuary 1992June 199410Lt Gen Mohammad MaqboolJune 1994January 199611Lt Gen Salahuddin TirmiziFebruary 1996October 199812Lt Gen Yusaf KhanOctober 1998August 200013Lt Gen Syed Mohammad AmjadAugust 2000April 200214Lt Gen Shahid HamidApril 2002September 200315Lt Gen Mohammad AkramSeptember 2003October 200416Lt Gen Afzal MuzaffarOctober 2004May 200517Lt Gen Syed Sabahat HussainMay 2005April 200618Lt Gen Sikandar AfzalApril 2006November 200919Lt Gen Shafqat AhmedNovember 2009November 201220Lt Gen Abid ParvaizNovember 2012April 201521Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem AhmadApril 2015December 201622Lt Gen Sarfraz SattarDecember 2016September 201723Lt Gen Abdullah DogarSeptember 2017September 201824Lt Gen Muhammad Naeem AshrafSeptember 2018December 202025Lt Gen Waseem AshrafDecember 2020September 202126Lt Gen Chiragh Haider BalochSeptember 2021October 202227Lt Gen Akhtar NawazOctober 2022October 202428Lt Gen Ahsan GulrezOctober 2024Incumbent
References
Further reading
External links Corps formation sign can be seen on Pak Army Flags page