XI Corps (Pakistan)

The start of the Afghan War brought the Corps to prominence. It was given three infantry divisions as well has been 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.

The end of the Cold War affected the Corp immensely. No longer facing a threat on its western flank, the army moved brigades and units away from the XIcorps, with its orientation being changed from a defending the Afghan border, to being a reserve force in Kashmir. The 1999 Kargil War saw the corps enter direct action for the first time and it fought mainly in the Gultari sector of Kashmir, where one of its members, Captain Kernel Sher Khan would be posthumously awarded the highest Pakistani military awardNishan-e-Haider, after being martyred in combat in Indian Kashmir.

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.

The order of battle 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:

• Brain Cloughley, A History of Pakistan Army
• Colonel Kaiser Hameed Khan who served in this HQ twice, as a capt during 1983 to 1986 and as Lt Col during 1996 to 1999.

• GlobalSecurity.org, Global Security Website about the XI Corps
• This shows the Formations Insignia
• Daily Times - Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik Takes Over As Peshawar Corps Commander