XXXI Corps (Pakistan)

XXXI Corps
Badge of XXXI Corps
Active	1986;39 years ago (1986)
Country	Pakistan
Branch	Pakistan Army
Type	XXX Corps
Role	Maneuver/Deployment oversight.
Size	45,000 approximately (Though this may vary as units are rotated)
Garrison/HQ	Bahawalpur Cantonment, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname(s)	Bahawalpur Corps [1]
Colors Identification	Red and white
Anniversaries	1986
Decorations	Military Decorations of Pakistan military
Commanders
Commander	Lt-Gen. S. M. Malik
Notable commanders	Gen. Shamim Alam Lt-Gen. Mohammad Shafiq Lt-Gen. Haroon Aslam

The XXXI Corps is a field corps of the Pakistan Army, currently stationed in Bahawalpur, Punjab in Pakistan. ^[2]

It is currently commanded by Lt-Gen. Saqib Mehmood Malik as of 2023. ^[3]

History

The XXXI Corps was formed and raised as part of the major reorganization of the Pakistani military in 1985– it was one of the three corps that were formed to address the security in the country. ^[4] The XXXI Corps took over the area of responsibility of southern region of Punjab from the II Corps, which is more well suited for forestry warfare techniques. ^[2] It was initially headquartered in Pano Akil but later moved to Bahawalpur Cantonment as the corps headquarter. ^[5] Together with the V Corps in Sindh, the XXXI Corps is responsible for the maneuvering combat readiness in the southern Punjab's desert zone. ^[2]

In 2023, 35th Infantry Division attached to the XXXI Corps equipped with VCC-2 APCs were reportedly be taking part in anti-bandit operations near Bahawalpur alongside Punjab Police, based on social media and news reports. The units from the 35th were then rotated with fresh replacements consisting of VCC-1 APCs. The police were also equipped with locally-made M113A1/A2 APCs. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Structure

Its present order of battle is as follows: ^[9]

Structure of XXXI Corps
Corps	Corps HQ	Corps Commander	Assigned Units	Unit HQ
XXXI Corps	Bahawalpur	Lt. Gen Saqib Mehmood Malik	26th Mechanized Division	Bahawalpur
			35th Infantry Division	Bahawalpur
			14th Infantry Division	Okara
			101st Independent Infantry Brigade	U/I Location
			14th Independent Armored Brigade	Bahawalpur
			Independent Artillery Brigade	U/I Location
			Independent Engineering Brigade	U/I Location
			Independent Signal Brigade	U/I Location

List of Commanders XXXI Corps

	Corps Commander	Start Date	End Date
	Lt Gen Saqib Mehmood Malik	4 December 2022	Incumbent
	Lt Gen Faiz Hameed	9th Aug 2022	3 December 2022
	Lt Gen Khalid Zia	Nov 2020	8 August 2022
	Lt Gen Syed Muhammad Adnan	April 2019	Nov 2020
	Lt Gen Javed Mehmood Bukhari	August 2018	April 2019
	Lt Gen Sher Afgun	December 2016	August 2018
	Lt Gen Javed Iqbal Ramday	April 2015	December 2016
	Lt Gen Javed Iqbal	December 2013	April 2015
	Lt Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat	January 2013	December 2013
	Lt Gen Muhammad Haroon Aslam	March 2011	January 2013
	Lt Gen Naeem Khalid Lodhi	October 2009	March 2011
	Lt Gen Muhammad Yousaf	October 2008	October 2009
	Lt Gen Raza Mohammad Khan	April 2007	October 2008
	Lt Gen Imtiaz Hussain	May 2005	April 2007
	Lt Gen Syed Parwez Shahid	September 2003	May 2005
	Lt Gen Shahid Hamid	October 2001	September 2003
	Lt Gen Munir Hafiez	August 2000	October 2001
	Lt Gen Tahir Ali Qureshi	October 1998	August 2000
	Lt Gen Muzaffar Hussain Usmani	May 1997	October 1998
	Lt Gen Khalid Nawaz Malik	January 1996	May 1997
	Lt Gen Iftikhar Ali Khan	June 1993	January 1996
	Lt Gen Muhammad Akram Khan	August 1991	May 1993
	Lt Gen Shamim Alam Khan	April 1991	August 1991
	Lt Gen Mohammad Shafiq	March 1988	April 1991

References

1. "COAS visits formations of Bahawalpur Corps". brecorder.com.
2. "XXXI Corps". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
3. "General Asim Munir kicks off Pakistan army's game of thrones with major reshuffle". WION.
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 29 November 2023.
5. Sathasivam, Kanishkan (24 October 2017). Uneasy Neighbors: India, Pakistan and US Foreign Policy. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-351-87682-7 . Retrieved 29 November 2023.
6. Haq, Irfanul (10 April 2023). "'Grand operation' against katcha area outlaws starts in Punjab". Dawn. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
7. @FarooqB90714421 (16 April 2023). "PA VCC-2s from 35 Div taking part in Kacha Anti-Dacoit Op in Lower Punjab Region. Plus a M113A1/A2 HIT Up-Armoured with Punjab police" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
8. @FarooqB90714421 (2 December 2023). "PA VCC1s (With RPG-Net but without additional armour) during Anti-Dacoit Ops in Lower Punjab Region. Its likely these VCC1s replaced the VCC2s which had likely become exhausted as they were taking part in the op previously" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
9. Global Security website page on XXXI Corps

Further reading

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