V Corps (Pakistan)

V Corps
Badge of V Corps
Active	1975;50 years ago (1975)
Country	Pakistan
Branch	Pakistan Army
Type	XXX Corps
Role	Maneuver/Deployment oversight.
Size	~45,000 approximately (Though this may vary as units are rotated)
HQ/Garrison	Karachi Cantonment, Sindh, Pakistan
Nickname(s)	Karachi Corps [1]
Colors Identification	Red, white and gold
Anniversaries	1975
Decorations	Military Decorations of Pakistan military
Commanders
Commander	Lt-Gen. Muhammad Avais Dastgir
Chief of Staff	Brig. Nauman Manzoor Awan
Notable commanders	Gen. A. S. Hyat Gen. Asif Nawaz Lt-Gen. Arif Bangash Lt.Gen.Zaheerul Islam Lt-Gen. Naveed Mukhtar Lt-Gen. Nadeem Anjum
Insignia
War Flag

The V Corps is a field corps of the Pakistan Army currently headquartered in Karachi, Sindh in Pakistan. Its current mission objectives are to provide security and external security deployments within its area of responsibility. ^[2] One of Pakistan army's ten field corps, it has an area of responsibility and responsibility to protect the Sindh region, and to halter Indian advancements into the Sindh, and lower Punjab region.^: 310

As of current, the corps is commanded by Lt-Gen. Muhammad Avais Dastgir.

History

Formation and war service

As part of major re-organization of the Pakistani military, the Army GHQ raised the corps formation with a mission parameter to protect and intercept any Indian Army's attempt to disrupt the North-South landline link between Karachi and Lahore. ^{[3] [2]}

Despite its role, the V Corps has not seen active conflict with Indian Army but has provided its expertise in desert warfare while providing assistance to Sindh's police department to contain the local dacoits and law enforcements in Karachi by deploying the Army Rangers. ^[3] The V Corps is the only strike corps of the army in Sindh; it has area of responsibility and protect the entire province of Sindh. ^[4]

In 1999, the V Corps was a major part of North-South regional formation, falling under the Southern Command together with the XII Corps but this short-lived due to confusion among the commanders.^{: 309  [5]} The Southern Command now exclusively includes the XII Corps.^{: 309  [5]}

Despite its strike and combat role, The V Corps has been deployed by the Army GHQ to aide and assist the federal government as part of the military aid to the civil power to help and better prepare for natural disasters with its 18th Infantry Division being involved in establishing relief camps and evacuating people living near the coastline. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Structure

Structure of V Corps
Corps	Corps HQ	Corps Commander	Assigned Units	Unit HQ
V Corps	Karachi	Lt. Gen. Avais Dastgir	16th Infantry Division	Pano Aqil
			18th Infantry Division	Hyderabad
			25th Mechanized Division	Malir
			31st Mechanized Brigade	Hyderabad
			2nd Armored Brigade	Malir
			Independent Artillery Brigade	N/A
			Independent Signal Brigade	N/A
			Independent Engineering Brigade	N/A

List of corps commanders

#	Name	Start of tenure	End of tenure
1	Lt Gen Mohammad Akbar Khan	1974	March 1976
2	Lt Gen Jehanzeb Arbab	March 1976	January 1978
3	Lt Gen Iqbal Khan	January 1978	September 1978
4	Lt Gen S.M. Abbasi	September 1978	March 1980
5	Lt Gen Ahmad Jamal Khan	March 1980	March 1984
6	Lt Gen Ahmad Shamim Khan	March 1984	March 1988
7	Lt Gen Asif Nawaz	March 1988	March 1991
8	Lt Gen Arif Bangash	March 1991	1992
9	Lt Gen Naseer Akhtar	1992	1994
10	Lt Gen Lehrasab Khan	1994	May 1997
11	Lt Gen Afzal Janjua	May 1997	October 1998
12	Lt Gen Muzaffar Hussain Usmani	October 1998	May 2001
13	Lt Gen Tariq Wasim Ghazi	May 2001	January 2004
14	Lt Gen Ahsan Saleem Hyat	January 2004	October 2004
15	Lt Gen Syed Atahar Ali	October 2004	April 2006
16	Lt Gen Ahsan Azhar Hyat	April 2006	October 2008
17	Lt Gen Shahid Iqbal	October 2008	October 2010
18	Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam	October 2010	March 2012
19	Lt Gen Ijaz Chaudhry	March 2012	November 2013
20	Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani	November 2013	October 2014
21	Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar	October 2014	December 2016
22	Lt Gen Shahid Baig Mirza	December 2016	August 2018
23	Lt Gen Humayun Aziz	August 2018	December 2020
24	Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum	December 2020	November 2021
25	Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed	November 2021	December 2022
26	Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar	December 2022	January 2025
27.	Lt Gen Muhammad Avais Dastgir	January 2025	incumbent

See also

• XI Corps (Pakistan)
• I Corps (Pakistan)
• Structure of the Pakistan Army

References

1. "Karachi Corps Commander News". tribune.com.pk. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
2. "V Corps". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
3. Ganguly, Šumit; O'Donnell, Frank (28 October 2022). Routledge Handbook of the International Relations of South Asia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-1-000-75552-7 . Retrieved 19 November 2023.
4. Alam, Dr Shah (1 July 2012). Pakistan Army: Modernisation, Arms Procurement and Capacity Building. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN   978-93-81411-79-7 . Retrieved 19 November 2023.
5. Nawaz, Shuja (10 April 2020). The Battle for Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighbourhood. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-5381-4205-9 . Retrieved 19 November 2023.
6. "GOC Hyderabad Visits Relief Camps Of Sujawal District". bolnews.com. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
7. "Pakistan Army troops engage in evacuation, relief activities amid Biparjoy". app.com.pk. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
8. "Under no circumstances people will be left alone: Karachi corps commander". dunyanews.tv. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.

Further reading

• Cloughley, Brian (1999). A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections. Karachi, Sind, Pakistan: Karachi University Press. ISBN   9780195790153.

External links

• Global Security Website about the V Corps
• This shows the Formations Insignia