The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent that covers an area of 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi) in India and Pakistan. It is the world's 18th-largest desert, and the world's 9th-largest hot subtropical desert.
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). The Indian Army was established on 1 April 1895 alongside the long established presidency armies of the East India Company, which too were absorbed into it in 1903. Some princely states maintained their own armies which formed the Imperial Service Troops which, along with the Indian Army formed the land component of the Armed Forces of the Crown of India, responsible for the defence of the Indian Empire. The Imperial Service Troops were merged into the Indian Army after independence. The units and regiments of the Indian Army have diverse histories and have participated in several battles and campaigns around the world, earning many battle and theatre honours before and after Independence.
The Pakistan Navy (PN) is the uniform naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The President of Pakistan is the Supreme Commander of the Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral commands the navy. The Pakistan Navy operates on the coastline of Pakistan in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. It was established in August 1947, following the independence of Pakistan from the United Kingdom.
Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi was a Pakistani military officer. During the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he commanded the Pakistani Eastern Command in East Pakistan, he signed the instrument of surrender as in 16 Dec. '71 his forces had to surrender to the Indian Army's Eastern Command's commander Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora by the order of the then President of Pakistan Yahya Khan.
The Pakistan Army, commonly known as the Pak Army is the land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the supreme commander of the army. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), a four-star general, commands the army. The Army was established in August 1947 after Pakistan gained independence from the United Kingdom. According to statistics provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in 2023, the Pakistan Army has approximately 560,000 active duty personnel, supported by the Pakistan Army Reserve, the National Guard and the Civil Armed Forces. Pakistan Army is the sixth-largest army of the world and the largest of the Muslim world.
Pakistan Military Academy, also referred to by its acronym PMA, is an officers training centre located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Established in October 1948, it is the sole service academy in Pakistan tasked with training cadets to serve as army officers. For educational training, the institution is accredited by National University of Sciences & Technology.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), ; 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.
Para (Special Forces), also known as Para Commandos or Para (SF) Commandos, is a group of special forces battalions of the Parachute Regiment in the Indian Army. These units specialize in various roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, counter-insurgency and direct action.
The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) is a position in the Pakistani Army held by a four-star general. As the highest-ranking officer, it is one of the most powerful positions in the army.
The Pakistan Navy Special Service Group is the special operations force tasked with the conducting the small-unit based military operations in all environmental formats of the sea, air, and land by adopting to the tactics of the unconventional warfare.
The 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.
The XII Corps is a field corps of the Pakistan Army currently headquartered in Quetta, Balochistan in Pakistan.
The V Corps is a field corps of the Pakistan Army currently headquartered in Karachi, Sindh in Pakistan. The Corps Commander focuses on the military operations within the area. One of Pakistan army's tenth-maneuver corps, it has an area of responsibility and responsibility to protect of Sindh region.
The Pakistan Army Armoured Corps is a military administrative and combined arms service branch of the Pakistan Army.
The Pakistan Army Special Service Group is the special operations forces of the Pakistan Army. They are also known by their nickname of "Maroon Berets" due to their headgear.
The Pakistan Army Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering is a military administrative and the engineering staff branch of the Pakistan Army.
Women in the Pakistan Armed Forces are the female officers who serve in the Pakistan Armed Forces. Women have been taking part in Pakistani military since 1947, after the establishment of Pakistan. 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 branch. Rather, they are appointed and serve in operations involving military logistics, staff and senior administrative offices, particularly in the regional and central headquarters. There was a rise in the number of women applying for the combat branch of PAF in 2013.
Faiz HameedHI(M) is a retired three-star general of the Pakistan Army and former spymaster who served as the 24th Director General of the ISI. He was commissioned in the Baloch Regiment having served as GOC 16th Infantry Division Pano Akil. He last served as Commander of the XXXI Corps before taking pre-mature retirement on 10 December 2022.
The Pakistan military services have established number of training schools, academies, universities and command & staff colleges across the Pakistan for the purpose of training soldiers and officers in military science, warfare command and strategy and associated technologies.
Major General Dalvir Singh AVSM, VrC, VSM is a retired Indian Special Forces officer, a former General Officer of the Indian Army and the recipient of Vir Chakra, India's third-highest War-time gallantry award. He has commanded the 10th Battalion Special Forces, the elite 52 Special Action Group of the NSG, Kilo Force of the Rashtriya Rifles and the Territorial Army (India), with distinction. After retirement from active military service, he has been serving as the Director Training of Rajasthan Police Training Center Jodhpur.
