WThe Pakistan Armed Forces are the combined military forces of Pakistan. They are the sixth largest in the world in terms of active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and Air Force, which are backed by various constitutionally-sanctioned paramilitary forces. A critical component to the armed forces' structure is the Strategic Plans Division Force, which is responsible for the maintenance and safeguarding of Pakistan's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile and assets. The chain of command of the Pakistani military is organised under the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) alongside chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. All branches are systemically coordinated during joint operations and missions under the Joint Staff Headquarters (JSHQ).
WThe Pakistan Army is the principal land warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of British India, resulting in the parliamentary act that established the independence of Pakistan from the United Kingdom on 14 August 1947. According to the estimation provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in 2020, the Pakistan Army had approximately 560,000 active-duty personnel, supported by the Army Reserve and National Guard—effectively making it the 6th largest army in the world in terms of manpower. Citizens can enlist for voluntary military service upon reaching 16 years of age and cannot be deployed for combat until age 18 in accordance with the Constitution of Pakistan.
WBleed India with a Thousand Cuts is a military doctrine followed by the Pakistan military against India. It consists of waging covert war against India using insurgents at multiple locations. According to scholar Aparna Pande, this view was put forward in various studies by the Pakistani military, particularly in its Staff College, Quetta. Peter Chalk and Christine Fair cite the former director of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) explicating the strategy.
WThe Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) is, in principle, the highest-ranking and senior most uniformed military officer, typically at four-star rank, in the Pakistan Armed Forces who serves as a Principal Staff Officer and a chief military adviser to the civilian government led by elected Prime minister of Pakistan and his/her National Security Council. The role of advisement is also extended to the elected members in the bicameral Parliament and the Ministry of Defence. The Chairman leads the meetings and coordinates the combined efforts of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), comprising the Chairman, the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff, Commandant of Marines, DG Strategic Plans Division, and commanders of the service branches in the paramilitary command.
WDefence Day is celebrated in Pakistan as national day to commemorate the sacrifices made by Pakistani soldiers in defending its borders. The date of 6 September marks the day in 1965 when Indian troops crossed the international border to launch an attack on Pakistani Punjab, in a riposte to Pakistan's Operation Grand Slam targeting Jammu. The Pakistani narrative holds that it was an unprovoked surprise attack by India, which was repulsed by the Pakistan Army despite its smaller size and fewer armaments. The narrative has been criticised by Pakistani commentators as representing false history.
WThe Inter-Services Intelligence is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan, operationally responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world. As one of the principal members of the Pakistani intelligence community, the ISI reports to the Director-General and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the Government of Pakistan.
WThe Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, is an administrative body of senior high-ranking uniformed military leaders of the unified Pakistan Armed Forces who advises the civilian Government of Pakistan, National Security Council, Defence Minister, President and Prime minister of Pakistan on important military and non-military strategic matters. It is defined by statute, and consists of a Chairman, the military chiefs from Army, Navy and the Air Force: all four-star officers appointed by the President, on the advice of the Prime minister. The chairman is selected based on seniority and merit from the Chiefs of service of the three branches of the Pakistan Armed and Defense Services. Each service chief, outside their Joint Chiefs of Staff obligations, performs their duty directly for the Ministry of Defence.
WThe Pakistan Marines or simply as Pak Marines, is an expeditionary and amphibious warfare uniform service branch within the Pakistan Navy, consisting of the naval officers and other personnel to perform their duties within the Marines. Pakistan Marines are responsible for providing force protection in littorals, using the mobility of the Pakistan Navy to provide creeks defence, ground based air defence and Force protection.
WMartial race was a designation created by army officials of British India after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, where they classified each caste into one of two categories, 'martial' and 'non-martial'. The ostensible reason was that a 'martial race' was typically brave and well-built for fighting, while the 'non-martial races' were those whom the British believed to be unfit for battle because of their sedentary lifestyles. However, an alternative hypothesis is that British-trained Indian soldiers were among those who rebelled in 1857 and thereafter recruitment policy favoured castes which had remained loyal to the British and diminished or abandoned recruitment from the catchment area of the Bengal Army. The concept already had a precedent in Indian culture as one of the four orders (varnas) in the Vedic social system of Hinduism is known as the Kshatriya, literally "warriors". Brahmins were described as 'the oldest martial community', in the past having two of the oldest regiments, the 1st Brahmans and 3rd Brahmans.
WThe Ministry of Defence, is an executive ministry of the Government of Pakistan, tasked in defending Pakistan's national interests and values at home and abroad. It plays a major role in controlling the Pakistan government and the Pakistan Armed Forces and coordinates with a range of Terrorists, domestic, foreign and inter-governmental bodies.
WThe National Command Authority,, is the apex civilian led command to oversee the employment, policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, and operational command and control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenals.
WThe National Defence University or NDU, is a publicly funded military institution located in Islamabad, Pakistan dedicated to the study and research in military science, geo-strategy and international relations.
WThe Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It came into existence by transfer of personnel and equipment from the Royal Indian Navy that ceased to exist following the partition of British India through a parliamentary act that established the independence of Pakistan and India from the United Kingdom on 14 August 1947.
WThe Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Navy when required. The PAF has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport and logistics capability to the Government of Pakistan. As of 2017, per the IISS, the PAF has 70,000 active-duty personnel and operates 871 aircraft.
WThe Pakistan Armed Forces Band is a Pakistani musical group which was formed in 1947 in Islamabad. The band immediately played an important role for Pakistani soldiers in providing patriotic support during the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971. The band's musical traditions are derived in its connections and heritage from the British Empire, as well as Indian musical tradition. The members of the band, who are drawn from the 3 branches of the Pakistan Armed Forces, are frequently the center of attention at military ceremonies and military parades in Pakistan. It is made up of 78 members who are currently led by Major Ghulam Ali.
WUnited Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions involving Pakistan cover about 70 operations throughout different parts of the world. Pakistan joined the United Nations on 30 September 1947, despite opposition from Afghanistan because of the Durand Line issue. The Pakistan Armed Forces are the third largest contributor of troops towards UN peacekeeping efforts, behind India and Ethiopia.
WPakistan is one of nine states to possess nuclear weapons. Pakistan began development of nuclear weapons in January 1972 under Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who delegated the program to the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Munir Ahmad Khan with a commitment to having the bomb ready by the end of 1976. Since PAEC, consisting of over twenty laboratories and projects under nuclear engineer Munir Ahmad Khan, was falling behind schedule and having considerable difficulty producing fissile material, Abdul Qadeer Khan was brought from Europe by Bhutto at the end of 1974. As pointed out by Houston Wood, Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, in his article on gas centrifuges, "The most difficult step in building a nuclear weapon is the production of fissile material"; as such, this work in producing fissile material as head of the Kahuta Project was pivotal to Pakistan developing the capability to detonate a nuclear bomb by the end of 1984.
WWomen in the Pakistan Armed Forces are the female soldiers who serve in the Pakistan Armed Forces. Women have been taking part in Pakistani military since 1947, after the establishment of Pakistan. As of 13 June 2013 around 4,000 women are serving in the Pakistan Armed Forces. In 2006, the first women fighter pilot batch joined the combat aerial mission command of PAF. The Pakistan Navy prohibits women from serving in the combat missions, especially in the submarine force command. Rather they are appointed and serve in operations involving military logistics, staff development and senior administrative offices, particularly in the regional and central headquarters. There has been a rise in the numbers of women joining the combat PAF in recent years.