XI Corps (Pakistan)

The XI Corps is an active administrative corp of Pakistan Army. The XI Corps is the only one corps that is assigned in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). It is currently stationed in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtaunkhuwa. The Corps was established and quickly raised in 1975 to support administrative military operational units in the NWFP and Northern Areas. The corps is internationally distinguished for its involvement in Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Afghan War
It was the start of the Afghan War, which brought the Corps to prominence in 1979. It was given three infantry divisions, and was given the responsibility of covering the Khyber Pass, one of the two approaches by which the Soviets could attack into Pakistan (the other was the Bolan Pass, guarded by the XII Corps). For more than a decade it held the line against Soviet expansionism.

Kargil War
The end of the Cold War brought effected the Corp immesly. No longer facing a threat on its Western flank, the army moved division, brigades and units away from the division, and its orienatation was changed from a defence of the Afghan border, to being a reserve in Kashmir. The 1999 Kargil War saw the corps enter action for the first time and it fought mainly in the Gultari sector of the war, where one of its members, Captain Kernel Sher Khan would win the Nishan-e-Haider, the Highest Pakistani Gallantry Award.

War on Terror
After September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, the XI Corps became the main Pakistani formation involved in fighting in Waziristan and the North West Frontier in general. It has been reinforced and also commands substantial forces of paramilitary Frontier Corps.

List of commanders

 * 1) Lt Gen Majeed Malik, April 1975 – March 1976
 * 2) Lt Gen Sawar Khan, March 1976 – January 1978
 * 3) Lt Gen Fazle Haq, January 1978 – March 1980
 * 4) Lt Gen Chaudhri Abdul Majid, March 1980 – April 1984
 * 5) Lt Gen Muhammad Iqbal, April 1984 – October 1985
 * 6) Lt Gen Mirza Aslam Beg, October 1985 – January 1987
 * 7) Lt Gen Ahmad Kamal Khan, January 1987 – February 1989
 * 8) Lt Gen Rehm Dil Bhatti, February 1989 – September 1990
 * 9) Lt Gen Farrakh Khan, September 1990 – August 1991
 * 10) Lt Gen Ayaz Ahmad, August 1991 – May 1994
 * 11) Lt Gen Mumtaz Gul, May 1994 – October 1996
 * 12) Lt Gen Saeed uz Zafar, October 1996 – March 2000
 * 13) Lt Gen Imtiaz Shaheen, March 2000 – April 2001
 * 14) Lt Gen Ehsan ul Haq, April 2001 – October 2001
 * 15) Lt Gen Ali Jan Aurakzai, October 2001 – March 2004
 * 16) Lt Gen Safdar Hussain, March 2004 – September 2005
 * 17) Lt Gen Mohammad Hamid Khan, September 2005 – April 2007
 * 18) Lt Gen Masood Aslam, April 2007 – April 2010
 * 19) Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik, April 2010 – December 2011
 * 20) Lt Gen Khalid Rabbani, December 2011 – present

Composition
The order of battles of the corps keeps changing, especially in view of its current commitment in the War on terror. During peacetime the XI corps is based in the following areas:


 * HQ XI Corps: Peshawar
 * 7th Infantry Division: Peshawar
 * 9th Infantry Division: Kohat
 * Armoured Brigade: Nowshera.