Structure of the Pakistan Army
The structure of the Pakistan Army is based on two distinct themes: operational and administrative. Operationally the Army is divided into nine corps and two corps-level formations with areas of responsibility ranging from the mountainous regions of the north to the desert and coastal regions of the south. Administratively it is divided in several regiments. The General Headquarters of the Army is located in Rawalpindi in Punjab province. It is planned to be moved to the capital city of Islamabad nearby.
Army headquarters and staff
The Chief of the Army Staff, formerly called the Commander in Chief, is challenged with the responsibility of commanding the Pakistani Army. The COAS operates from army headquarters in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. The Principal Staff Officers assisting him in his duties at the Lieutenant General level include:| Post | Name |
| Chief of Army Staff, GHQ. | General Qamar Javed Bajwa |
| Chief of General Staff | Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza |
| Adjutant General | Lt Gen Muhammad Aamir |
| Quarter Master General | Lt Gen Aamir Abbasi |
| Millitary Secretary | Lt Gen Muhammad Abdul Aziz |
| Chief of Logistics Staff | Lt Gen Azhar Saleh Abbasi |
| Inspector General Training & Evaluation | Lt Gen Sher Aghun |
| Inspector General Arms | Lt Gen Khalid Zia |
| Inspector General Communications and IT | Lt Gen Ali Amir Awan |
| Engineer-in-Chief | Lt Gen Moazzam Ejaz |
The Military Operations and Intelligence Directorates function under the Chief of General Staff. A major reorganization in GHQ was done in September 2008 under General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, when two new PSO positions were introduced: the Inspector General Arms and the Inspector General Communications and IT, thus raising the number of PSO's to eight.
The headquarters function also includes the Judge Advocate General, and the Comptroller of Civilian Personnel, the Chief of the Corps of Engineers who is also head of Military Engineering Service, all of them also report to the Chief of the Army Staff.
Operational structure
Hierarchy
- Corps: A corps usually comprises two or more divisions and is commanded by a Lieutenant General.
- Division: A division usually comprises three brigades including infantry, artillery, and engineers, and is commanded by a Major General. Each division also has one or more armoured brigades, except for mountain divisions. There are nineteen infantry divisions, one Special Security Division, two mechanised divisions, two armoured divisions, one division-sized formation called Force Command Northern Areas, one engineer division, two artillery divisions.
- Brigade: A brigade usually comprises three or more battalions of different types and is commanded by a Brigadier. Some brigades are independent of divisions and consist of battalions of the same type.
- Battalion: A battalion has about 6-900 soldiers and is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. This number varies depending on the type of subunits of the battalion. A battalion comprises either three batteries or four companies or three squadrons. Each of these subunits is command by a Major major and consists of further subunits called sections.
Corps
| Corps | HQ Location | Current Commander | Major Corps Formations |
| I Corps | Mangla | Lt. Gen. Shaheen Mazhar Mehmood | 6th Armoured Division 17th Infantry Division 37th Infantry Division |
| II Corps | Multan | Lt. Gen. Muhammad Naeem Ashraf | 1st Armoured Division 14th Infantry Division 40th Infantry Division |
| IV Corps | Lahore | Lt. Gen. Majid Ehsan | 2nd Artillery Division 10th Infantry Division 11th Infantry Division |
| V Corps | Karachi | Lt. Gen. Humayun Aziz | 16th Infantry Division 18th Infantry Division 25th Mechanized Division |
| X Corps | Rawalpindi | Lt. Gen. Azhar Abbas | Northern Areas Command 12th Infantry Division 19th Infantry Division 23rd Infantry Division Special Security Division |
| XI Corps | Peshawar | Lt. Gen. Nauman Mahmood | 7th Infantry Division 9th Infantry Division |
| XII Corps | Quetta | Lt. Gen. Muhammad Waseem Ashraf | 33rd Infantry Division 41st Infantry Division |
| XXX Corps | Gujranwala | Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir Ahmad Shah | 8th Infantry Division 15th Infantry Division |
| XXXI Corps | Bahawalpur | Lt. Gen. Syed Muhammad Adnan | 26th Mechanized Division 35th Infantry Division |
| Air Defence Command | Rawalpindi | Lt. Gen. Hamood Uz Zaman Khan | 3rd Air Defence Division 4th Air Defence Division |
| Strategic Forces Command | Rawalpindi | Lt. Gen. Qazi Muhammad Ikram Ahmed | 21st Artillery Division 22nd Artillery Division |
Independent brigades
There are several independent brigades including seven mechanised infantry brigades, eight armoured brigades, four artillery brigades, and nine engineer brigades. These include:- 105 Independent Infantry Brigade under V Corps
- 105 Air Defence Independent Brigade Group in XXXI Corps
- 111 Independent Infantry Brigade at Rawalpindi with X Corps
- 212 Infantry Brigade at Lahore with IV Corps.
Former formations
36th adhoc Div. and 39th adhoc Div. were raised to command the Paramilitary troops and a few loyal battalions. Were later reinforced with a couple of other battalions each. They were not re-raised after the war.
Administrative structure
The Pakistani Army is organised in two main ways, which are Arms and Services.| Combat Arms | Insignia | Administrative Services | Insignia | ||
| Armoured Corps | Service Corps | ||||
| Air Defence Corps | Military Police | ||||
| Aviation Corps | Electrical and Mechanical Engineering | ||||
| Artillery Corps | Medical Corps | ||||
| Signals Corps | Education Corps | ||||
| Engineer Corps | Veterinary Corps | ||||
| :Category:Infantry regiments of Pakistan|Infantry Regiments | Ordnance Corps | ||||
| Special Forces | Military Intelligence Corps | ||||
| Coast Guards | Chaplain Corps | ||||
| Dental Corps |