Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers

The Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, (Urdu: ﺁرمى انجنيرينگ كور; Army Engineering Corps), is an active military administrative staff corps, and a major science and technology command of the Pakistan Army.[2] Although the Corps is generally associated with dams, canals and flood protection, it performs variety of public works for the Government of Pakistan, only if it is ordered by the Prime Minister.[2]

Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers
Founded14 August 1947 (1947-08-14)
Country Pakistan
Branch Pakistan Army
TypeMilitary engineering
RoleCombat engineering
SizeApprox. 65,000 personnel
Part of Pakistan Armed Forces
Garrison/HQGeneral Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi Cantonment, Punjab
Nickname(s)Sappers
Motto(s)Urdu: روہ ای راون
"The Moving Spirit"[1]
Colours  
Anniversaries6 September (Defence Day)
Engagements/Civil Operations
WebsitePakistan Army − Engineers
Commanders
Colonel CommandantLieutenant General Moazzam Ijaz
Engineer-in-ChiefLieutenant General Moazzam Ijaz
Command Sergeant MajorGeneral Mansoor Ali
Notable
commanders
Lt Gen M. Anwar Khan
Lt Gen Zahid Ali Akbar
Lt Gen Javed Nasir
Gen Ziauddin Butt

Besides the performing and undertaking the combat and military engineering operations, the Corps operates major engineering organizations such as the Military Engineer Service (MES), the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and the Survey of Pakistan.[2] The Corps is commanded by a three-star general— a Lieutenant-General— who is designated as the Engineer-in-Chief, served as the Chief Army Topographer (CAT) and consult and guide the Chief of Army Staff in the important concerning matters of science and technology.[3] The current Engineer-in-Chief and current commander of the Corps of Engineers is Lieutenant General Moazzam Ijaz.[3]

Initially part of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers which dates back to 1780, but it came in its modern form on 14 August 1947, following the birth of Pakistan.[2] As for its war performances, the Corps took active military participation in the 1965 war, the 1971 war, the 1999 war, the 2001 standoff and the current operations as of 2000s.[2] In the 1960s, the Corps designed the Karakoram Highway, at that time, one of its largest project that connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass, at an altitude of 4,693 m or 15,397 ft as confirmed by both SRTM and multiple GPS readings.[4][5]

During the Kashmir earthquake of 2005, the Corps initiated the massive and one of the largest rehabilitation and reconstruction operations in Corps history, rebuilding and redesigning the entire cities of Gilgit and Muzaffarabad as well as Azad Kashmir. Its speedy rehabilitation operation was completed in record time and the entire city was rebuilt in 2008. As more recently, the Corps undertook the intensive rehabilitation and reconstruction operations in deluge in southern parts as well as recent earthquake in Western parts.

Since its inception, the Corps has built extensive military and civilian infrastructure of Pakistan Armed Forces as well as Pakistan Government, ranging from building bridges, dams, military regional headquarters and civil corporate architectural buildings.[2] The Corps mission has been extended with time passes, and is renowned to have designed, construct, and built the GHQ, ammunition plants, army cantonments, as well as Kahuta Project and its related research facilities.[2][6]

References

  1. "PAKISTAN ARMY". www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  2. PA, Pakistan Army. "Corps of Engineers". Pakistan Army. Directorate General for Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR). Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  3. "Major-General Ashfaq Nadeem made Director General Military Operations". The Nation (Pakistan). 16 April 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  4. Lonely Planet Karakoram Archived 11 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Khalid, PA, Brigadier Mumtaz. "History of KKH". Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers. Brigadier (retired) Khalid Mumtaz, Commander of 158th Engineers Brigade. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  6. Rahman, Shahidur (1999). Long road to Chagai§ The Background. Karachi, Oxford, and Lahore: Printwise Publications.

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