II Corps (Pakistan)

The II Corps, also known as II Strike Corps is a corps of Pakistan Army stationed in Multan, Punjab Province of Pakistan. The corps was active in Pakistan's theatre in War on Terror where its administrative divisions and brigades led numerous operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The corps is currently commanded by Lieutenant-General Muhammad Naeem Ashraf.[3] The longest-serving commander of this corps was Lieutenant-General Rahimuddin Khan who commanded for five and half years (from September 1978 to March 1984).

II Corps
Active	November 1968[1] - Present
Country	Pakistan
Allegiance	Pakistan Army
Branch	Active Duty
Type	Army Corps
Role	Combined arms formation
Size	50,000 approximately (though this may vary as units are rotated)
HQ/Command Control Headquarters	Multan, Multan District, Punjab Province
Nickname(s)	II Strike Corps, Multan Corps[2]
Colors Identification	Red, White and Black
Engagements	Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Indo-Pakistani War of 1999 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff War in North-West Pakistan
Decorations	Military Decorations of Pakistan Military
Commanders
Corps Commander	Lt. Gen. Muhammad Waseem Ashraf
Chief of Staff	Brig. Muhammad Ishaq Khattak
Notable commanders	Gen. Tikka Khan Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Gen. Rahimuddin Khan Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul Gen. Jehangir Karamat

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States Military) Admiral Mike Mullen speaks with Pakistan Army Lt. Gen. Shafqat Ahmed, the commander of II Corps, in Multan, Pakistan (2 September 2010)

History

Headquarters of the II Corps was formed in November 1968 in Lahore.[4] Later in 1969 it was transferred to Multan.[5]

During the 1965 war with India the army had only one corps headquarters, the I Corps in Kharian and the IV Corps was being raised in Multan which was later transferred to Lahore in 1969. The II corps was the 3rd newly created corps of the Pakistan Army as necessity of corps formations were being earnestly felt by the General Headquarters (GHQ), they wanted more decentralization of the army units, therefore intermediates between divisions and the GHQ were to be created and it were more corps headquarters.[6]

1971 War

The Corps was commanded by Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan during the war. Controversially one of its divisions; the 18th Infantry Division,[7] was taken out of II Corp's command and sent on an ill-fated offensive towards Ramgarh; which led to the debacle at the Battle of Longewala, the fact it was under GHQ rather than II Corps, spared the corps of any blame, but was later deemed one of the causes of failure. A major Indian attack towards Umerkot would be defeated[1] by two of the corps divisions; the 18th after its return from Ramgarh and to II Corps command, and the 33rd Infantry Division, a task for which they were commended,[8] after the war. In the final analysis its performance in the war; while commended by many parties, would be controversial, since at no time was its most powerful formation, 1st Armoured Division, committed to action.[5]

War in North-West Pakistan

As a heavy armoured and mechanized formation, it was unsuited for the mountain warfare that characterized the army's commitments over the next three decades in Kashmir, Siachen and Kargil, although it a few units did see action attached to other corps. As Pakistan's main strategic reserve, it was also not sent on overseas operations under the UN and with allies (such as Gulf War I and Somalia) which the army was ordered to undertake.

It would not be until 2008 when the elements of the corps would see action again. As the war in FATA heated up and militant activity increased to a hitherto unseen level, the government responded by launching a massive operation (code-named Operation Zalzala meaning earthquake) against the militant strongholds South Waziristan.[9] The operation would be spearheaded by 14th Infantry Division of II Corps, and would succeed in evicting the militants from their stronghold.[10] On December 26, 2008, elements of the 14th Infantry Division, were being redeployed to the Indian border.[11]

List of corps commanders

#	Lieutenant-General	Name	Start of tenure	End of tenure
1		Khwaja Wasiuddin	November 1968	September 1971
2		Tikka Khan	September 1971	March 1972
3		Muhammad Shariff	March 1972	1975
4		Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq	1975	March 1976
5		Rahimuddin Khan	September 1978	March 1984
6		Raja Saroop Khan	March 1984	March 1988
7		Shamim Alam Khan	March 1988	May 1989
8		Hamid Gul	May 1989	January 1992
9		Jehangir Karamat	January 1992	June 1994
10		Mohammad Maqbool	June 1994	January 1996
11		Salahuddin Tirmizi	February 1996	October 1998
12		Yusaf Khan	October 1998	August 2000
13		Syed Mohammad Amjad	August 2000	April 2002
14		Shahid Siddiq Tirmizi	April 2002	September 2003
15		Mohammad Akram	September 2003	October 2004
16		Afzal Muzaffar	October 2004	May 2005
17		Syed Sabahat Hussain	May 2005	April 2006
18		Sikandar Afzal	April 2006	November 2009
19		Shafqat Ahmed	November 2009	November 2012
20		Abid Parvaiz	November 2012	April 2015
21		Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad	April 2015	December 2016
22		Sarfraz Sattar	December 2016	September 2017
23		Abdullah Dogar	September 2017	September 2018
24		Muhammad Naeem Ashraf	September 2018	December 2020
25		Muhammad Waseem Ashraf	December 2020

Order of Battle

The Corps Order of Battle is:[4]

Formations	Location
HQ II Corps	Multan
1st Armoured Division	Multan
14th Infantry Division	Okara
40th Infantry Division	Okara
Independent Armored Brigade	U/I Location
Independent Infantry Brigade	U/I Location
Independent Artillery Brigade	U/I Location
Independent Engineer Brigade	U/I Location
Independent Signal Brigade	U/I Location

References

1. The Pakistan Army (1966-71), by Maj Gen (Retd) Shaukat Riza.
2. "Pakistan Army makes top level transfers and postings, several Corps Commanders reshuffled". timesofislamabad.com.
3. "One-third of corps commanders replaced in major reshuffle". Dawn. 25 August 2018.
4. Global Security
5. Brian Cloughley- A History of the Pakistan Army, ISBN 0-19-579507-5, Page 200.
6. Khan, Agha Muhammad Yahya. The breaking of Pakistan. Lahore: Liberty Pubsihers.
7. Brian Cloughley- A History of the Pakistan Army, ISBN 0-19-579507-5 Page 205-207.
8. Brian Cloughley- A History of the Pakistan Army, ISBN 0-19-579507-5 Page 206.
9. Daily Times Article
10. http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/Waziristan/timeline/index.html
11. https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081227/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan

External links

• Corps formation sign can be seen on Pak Army Flags page