Themilitary history of Pakistan (Urdu: تاريخ عسكری پاكِستان) covers the development, organization, and operations of thePakistan Armed Forces from the country's creation in1947 to the present day. Although the territory of modern Pakistan has witnessed warfare since ancient times, the history of the modern Pakistani military properly begins with the country's independence and the division of theBritish Indian Army.^[1]

The armed forces occupy a prominent position in thepolitical and national history of the country. Since independence, the military has remained one of Pakistan’s most powerful institutions and has periodically intervened in politics throughmilitary coups, citing civilian mismanagement or corruption.^[2] Civilian governments have frequently consulted senior military leaders on matters of national security, particularly concerning theKashmir conflict andforeign policy.^[3]

Since 1947, Pakistan’s armed forces have fought three major wars withIndia (1947–48, 1965, and 1971) and a limited conflict inKargil in 1999, in addition to smaller border skirmishes withAfghanistan. Following theSeptember 11 attacks, the military has been engaged in extensive counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa and the formerFederally Administered Tribal Areas, targeting theTehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and affiliated groups.^[4]

Pakistan has also participated in numerous internationalUnited Nations peacekeeping missions. As of 2025, Pakistan was among the top troop-contributing countries, with more than 4,000 personnel deployed in missions across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.^[5]

The region of modern-day Pakistan (part of British Raj before 1947) formed the most-populous, easternmost and richestsatrapy of the PersianAchaemenid Empire for almost two centuries, starting from the reign ofDarius the Great (522–485 BC).^[6] The first major conflict erupted whenAlexander the Great overthrew the Achaemenid Empire in 334 BCE and marched eastwards. After defeatingKing Porus in the fierceBattle of the Hydaspes (near modernJhelum), he conquered much of thePunjab region. But his battle weary troops refused to advance further into India^[7] to engage the formidable army of theNanda Dynasty and its vanguard of elephants, new monstrosities to the invaders. Therefore, Alexander proceeded southwest along the Indus valley.^[8] Along the way, he engaged in several battles with smaller kingdoms before marching his army westward across the Makran desert towards modern Iran. Alexander founded several new Macedonian/Greek settlements inGandhara andPunjab.

AsAlexander the Great's Greek and Persian armies withdrew westwards, thesatraps left behind by Alexander were defeated and conquered byChandragupta Maurya, who founded theMaurya Empire, which ruled the region from 321 to 185 BC. The Mauryas Empire was itself conquered by theShunga Empire, which ruled the region from 185 to 73 BC. Other regions such as theKhyber Pass were left unguarded, and a wave of foreign invasion followed. TheGreco-Bactrian king,Demetrius, capitalised and conquered southern Afghanistan and Pakistan around 180 BC, forming theIndo-Greek Kingdom. The Indo-Greek Kingdom ultimately disappeared as a political entity around 10 AD following the invasions of the Central AsianIndo-Scythians. Their empire morphed into theKushan Empire who ruled until 375 AD. The region was then conquered by the PersianIndo-Sassanid Empire which ruled large parts of it until 565 AD.

In 712 CE, an Arab Muslim military commander calledMuhammad bin Qasim conquered most of theIndus region (stretching fromSindh toMultan) for theUmayyad Empire. In 997 CE,Mahmud of Ghazni conquered the bulk of Khorasan|Khorasan]], marched on Peshawar in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of Punjab (1007), Balochistan (1011), Kashmir (1015) and Qanoch (1017). By the end of his reign in 1030, Mahmud's empire extended fromKurdistan in the west to theYamuna river in the east, and the Ghaznavid dynasty lasted until 1187. In 1160, Muhammad Ghori conquered Ghazni from the Ghaznavids and became its governor in 1173. He marched eastwards into the remaining Ghaznavid territory and Gujarat in the 1180s, but was rebuffed by Gujarat'sSolanki rulers. In 1186–87, he conquered Lahore, bringing the last of Ghaznevid territory under his control and ending the Ghaznavid Empire. Muhammad Ghori returned to Lahore after 1200 to deal with a revolt of the Rajput Ghakkar tribe in the Punjab. He suppressed the revolt, but was killed during a Ghakkar raid on his camp on the Jhelum River in 1206. Muhammad Ghori's successors established the first Indo-Islamic dynasty, theDelhi Sultanate. TheMamluk Dynasty, (mamluk means "slave" and referred to the Turkic slave soldiers who became rulers throughout the Islamic world), seized the throne of the Sultanate in 1211. Several Turko-Afghan dynasties ruled their empires from Delhi: the Mamluk (1211–1290), theKhalji (1290–1320), theTughlaq (1320–1413), theSayyid (1414–1451) and theLodhi (1451–1526). Although some kingdoms remained independent of Delhi – in Gujarat,Malwa (central India), Bengal andDeccan – almost all of the Indus plain came under the rule of these large Indo-Islamic sultanates. Perhaps the greatest contribution of the sultanate was its temporary success in insulating South Asia from theMongol invasion from Central Asia in the 13th century; nonetheless the sultans eventually lostAfghanistan and western Pakistan to theMongols (see theIlkhanate Dynasty).

From the 16th to the 19th century, the formidableMughal empire covered much of India.^[9] In 1739, the Persian emperorNader Shah invaded India, defeated the Mughal EmperorMuhammad Shah, and occupied most of Balochistan and the Indus plain. After Nadir Shah's death, the kingdom of Afghanistan was established in 1747 by one of his generals,Ahmad Shah Abdali, and included Kashmir, Peshawar, Daman, Multan, Sindh and Punjab. In the south, a succession of autonomous dynasties (theDaudpotas,Kalhoras andTalpurs) had asserted the independence of Sind, from the end of Aurangzeb's reign. Most of Balochistan came under the influence of the Khan ofKalat, apart from some coastal areas such asGwadar, which were ruled by the Sultan ofOman.

TheSikh Confederacy (1748–1799) was a group of small states in the Punjab that emerged in a political vacuum created by rivalry between the Mughals, Afghans and Persians.^[10] The Confederacy drove out the Mughals, repelled several Afghan invasions and in 1764 captured Lahore. However, after the retreat of Ahmed Shah Abdali, the Confederacy suffered instability as disputes and rivalries emerged.^[11] The Sikh empire (1799–1849) was formed on the foundations of the Confederacy byRanjit Singh who proclaimed himself "Sarkar-i-Wala", and was referred to as the Maharaja of Lahore.^[10] His empire eventually extended as far west as theKhyber Pass and as far south as Multan. Amongst his conquests were Kashmir in 1819 and Peshawar in 1834, although the Afghans made two attempts to recover Peshawar.^[12]

None of the territory of modern Pakistan was ruled by the British, or other European powers, until 1839, whenKarachi, then a small fishing village with a mud fort guarding the harbour, wastaken, and held as an enclave with a port andmilitary base for theFirst Afghan War that soon followed. The rest ofSindh wastaken in 1843, and in the following decades, first theEast India Company, and then after the post-Sepoy Mutiny (1857–1858) direct rule ofQueen Victoria of theBritish Empire, took over most of the country partly through wars, and also treaties. The main wars were that against theBalochTalpur dynasty, ended by theBattle of Miani (1843) in Sindh, theAnglo-Sikh Wars (1845–1849) and theAnglo-Afghan Wars (1839–1919). By 1893, all modern Pakistan was part of theBritish Indian Empire, and remained so until independence in 1947.^[13]

British historianJohn Keay notes that while most ofBritish India had generally been consolidated through treaties and more nonviolent means, much of what is now Pakistan had to be physically conquered.^[14] After Ranjit Singh's death, the Sikh Empire was weakened by internal divisions and political mismanagement. It fell to the British in 1849 after theSecond Anglo-Sikh War.^[12]

Different regions of Pakistan were conquered byEast India Company as below:

• Sindh was conquered byBattle of Hyderabad andBattle of Miani in 1843.
• Punjab and easternKhyber Pakhtunkhwa were conquered duringSecond Anglo-Sikh War in 1849.

Regions conquered byBritish Raj are as below:

• SouthernBalochistan came under control byTreaty of Kalat in 1876.
• WesternBalochistan was conquered by British empire inSecond Anglo-Afghan War throughTreaty of Gandamak, in 1879.

TheBritish Raj ruled from 1858 to 1947, the period when India was part of theBritish Empire. Following the famousSepoy Mutiny, the British took steps to avoid further rebellions taking place including changing the structure of the Army. They banned Indians from the officer corp and artillery corp to ensure that future rebellions would not be as organised and disciplined and that the ratio of British soldiers to Indians would be drastically increased. Recruiting percentages changed with an emphasis on Sikhs and Gurkhas whose loyalties and fighting prowess had been proven in the conflict and new caste- and religious-based regiments were formed.

DuringWorld War I, theBritish Indian Army fought inEgypt,Palestine,Mesopotamia,Gallipoli,France, andBelgium and suffered very heavy casualties. Many troops from modern dayPakistan such asKhudadad Khan,Shahamad Khan andMir Dast fought inFrance (includingFlanders in modernBelgium) and received theVictoria Cross.

The British Indian Army's strength was about 189,000 in 1939. There were about 3,000 British officers and 1,115 Indian officers. The army was expanded greatly to fight in World War II. By 1945, the strength of the Army had risen to about 2.5 million men, and is considered the largest volunteer force in history. There were about 34,500 British officers and 15,740 Indian officers. The Army took part in campaigns inFrance,East Africa,North Africa,Syria,Tunisia,Malaya,Burma,Greece,Sicily andItaly.They helped expel Rommel from North Africa, turned back the Japanese at Imphal and helped break the Gothic line in northern Italy, thus opening a third front into Germany. The British Indian Army suffered 179,935 casualties in the war (including 24,338 killed, 64,354 wounded, 11,762 missing and 79,481POW soldiers). Many future military officers and leaders of Pakistan fought in these wars.

On 3 June 1947, the British Government announced its plan to partitionBritish India into the independent dominions ofIndia andPakistan. The division of theBritish Indian Army was finalized on 30 June 1947, with Pakistan receiving approximately 36% of the total military establishment, corresponding to its share of population and defense requirements. This included six armoured, eight artillery, and eight infantry regiments, while India retained the remaining formations.^[15]

At the time of independence, Pakistan faced significant logistical challenges: most military infrastructure, including training centers, depots, and manufacturing facilities, were located within India. Many Pakistani troops and officers were stationed at Indian bases and had to be relocated by rail during the mass migrations and communal violence of partition. By late 1947, the newly formedPakistan Armed Forces had around 150,000 personnel, including 2,300 officers—short of the 4,000 estimated requirement. To fill the gap, several hundred British and Commonwealth officers remained temporarily, along with volunteers from Poland and Hungary.^[16]

GeneralSir Frank Messervy served as the firstCommander-in-Chief, Pakistan Army, succeeded bySir Douglas Gracey in 1948. Under their command, Pakistan organized four divisions inWest Pakistan and one inEast Pakistan, though many formations initially operated below full strength. Both India and Pakistan assumed complete operational control of their respective armed forces on 15 August 1947. Field MarshalSir Claude Auchinleck, the lastCommander-in-Chief, India, clarified to both dominions that, in the event of conflict, theCommonwealth forces would remain neutral.^[17]

Area shaded in green represents Pakistan-administered Kashmir, orange represents India-administered Kashmir, and the northeastern area is under Chinese control.

Armed tribal militias from Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, supported by elements of Pakistan’s military, entered the princely state ofJammu and Kashmir in October 1947. The state, ruled byMaharaja Hari Singh, had a Muslim-majority population but had not yet decided whether to join India or Pakistan. Facing an invasion and the threat of losing control of his capital, the Maharaja requested military assistance from India. On 26 October 1947, he signed theInstrument of Accession to India, which was accepted by Governor-GeneralLord Mountbatten on 27 October.

Indian forces were airlifted toSrinagar and engaged in heavy fighting with the invading forces. The conflict lasted until aUnited Nations–brokered ceasefire took effect on 1 January 1949, establishing a ceasefire line that left roughly one-third of the territory under Pakistani administration (nowAzad Jammu and Kashmir andGilgit-Baltistan) and the rest under Indian administration.^[18]

With the failure of theUnited States to persuade India to join an anti-communist pact, it turned towards Pakistan, which in contrast with India was prepared to join such an alliance in return of military and economic aid and also to find a potential ally againstIndia. By 1954, the US had decided thatPakistan along withTurkey and Iran would be ideal countries to counterSoviet influence. Therefore, Pakistan and the US signed the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement and American aid began to flow into Pakistan. This was followed by two more agreements. In 1955, Pakistan joined the South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) and theBaghdad Pact, later renamed the Central Asian Treaty Organization (CENTO) when Iraq withdrew in 1959.^[19]

Pakistan received over a billion dollars^[specify] in US military aid between 1954 and 1965. This aid greatly enhanced Pakistan's defence capability as new equipment and weapons were brought into the armed forces, new military bases were created, existing ones were expanded and upgraded, and two new Corps commands were formed. Shahid M Amin, who had served in the Pakistani foreign service, wrote, "It is also a fact, that these pacts did undoubtedly secure very substantial US military and economic assistance for Pakistan in its nascent years and significantly strengthened it in facing India, as seen in the 1965 war."^[20]

American and British advisers trained Pakistani personnel and the US was allowed to create bases within Pakistan's borders to spy on the Soviet Union. In this period, many future Pakistani presidents and generals went to American and British military academies, which led to the Pakistan army developing along Western models, especially following the British.

After Dominion status ended in 1956 with the formation of a Constitution and a declaration of Pakistan as an Islamic Republic, the military took control in 1958 and held power for more than 10 years. During this time, Pakistan had developed close military relations with many Middle Eastern countries to which Pakistan sent military advisers, a practice which continues into the 21st century.

In 1958, retiredMajor-General and PresidentIskander Mirza took over the country, deposed the government of Prime MinisterFeroz Khan Noon, and declared martial law on October 7, 1958. President Mirza personally appointed his close associate GeneralAyub Khan as the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan's army. However, Khan ousted Mirza when he became highly dissatisfied by Mirza's policies. As president and commander-in-chief, Ayub Khan appointed himself a 5-star Field Marshal and built relationships with the United States and the West. A formal alliance includingPakistan,Iran,Iraq, andTurkey was formed and was called theBaghdad Pact (later known as CENTO), which was to defend theMiddle East andPersian Gulf from Soviet communists designs.^[timeframe?]

Armed tribal incursions fromAfghanistan into Pakistan's border areas began with the transfer of power in 1947 and became a continual irritant. Many Pashtun Afghans regarded the 19th century Anglo-Afghan border treaties (historically called theDurand Line) as void and were trying to re-draw the borders with Pakistan or to create an independent state (Pashtunistan) for the ethnicPashtun people. The Pakistan Army had to be continually sent to secure the country's western borders. Afghan–Pakistan relations were to reach their lowest points in 1955 when diplomatic relations were severed with the ransacking of Pakistan's embassy inKabul and again in 1961 when the Pakistan Army had to repel a major Afghan incursion in Bajaur region.^[21]

Pakistan used American weaponry to fight the Afghan incursions but the weaponry had been sold under the pretext of fightingCommunism and the US was not pleased with this development, as the Soviets at that time became the chief benefactor to Afghanistan. Some sections of the American press blamed Pakistan for driving Afghanistan into the Soviet camp.

After India's defeat in theSino-Indian War of 1962,India began a rapid program of reforming and expanding its military. A series of conferences on Kashmir was held from December 1962 to February 1963 between India and Pakistan. Both nations offered important concessions and a solution to the long-standing dispute seemed imminent. However, after the Sino-Indian war, Pakistan had gained an important new ally in China and Pakistan then signed a bilateral border agreement with China that involved the boundaries of the disputed state, and relations with India again became strained.

Fearing a communist expansion into India, the US for the first time gave large quantities of weapons to India. The expansion of the Indian armed forces was viewed by most Pakistanis as being directed towards Pakistan rather thanChina. The US also pumped in large sums of money and military supplies to Pakistan as it saw Pakistan as being a check against Soviet expansionist plans.^[22]

Following theSino-Indian War of 1962,Pakistan perceived thatIndia’s military had been weakened and saw an opportunity to press its territorial claims inKashmir.^[23] In April 1965, border clashes occurred in theRann of Kutch, wherePakistani andIndian forces fought a series of limited engagements. The fighting ended afterBritish mediation restored the status quo, and neither side achieved a decisive victory.^[24]

Encouraged by its performance in Kutch, Pakistan launchedOperation Gibraltar in August 1965, sending thousands of armed infiltrators across the ceasefire line intoJammu and Kashmir to incite local uprisings against Indian rule.^[25] The operation failed when local support did not materialize, and India responded by crossing the international border on 6 September 1965, marking the start of theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965.^[26]

The war saw large-scaletank battles andair engagements along the western front. Both sides captured limited areas of each other’s territory, but independent analyses suggest that India held more territory overall—approximately 1,800 square kilometres of Pakistani land, compared with Pakistan’s capture of about 550 square kilometres of Indian territory.^[27][28]

TheUnited Nations called for an immediate ceasefire, which came into effect on 23 September 1965.^[29] TheUnited States imposed anarms embargo on both nations, which affected Pakistan more severely due to its reliance on American-supplied military hardware.^[30]

The war concluded with theTashkent Agreement in January 1966, brokered by theSoviet Union, which restored pre-war boundaries and reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to peaceful resolution of disputes.^[31] Most neutral historians and international observers describe the conflict as a military stalemate, with both sides claiming victory.^[23][24]

After theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965, theUnited States was disappointed that bothIndia andPakistan had used American-supplied military equipment in an offensive conflict, contrary to U.S. policy that such weapons be used only for defence.^[32] TheJohnson Administration consequently suspended military assistance to both nations. By July 1967, Washington withdrew its Military Assistance Advisory Group from Pakistan, and defence cooperation between the two countries declined sharply.^[33] In response, Pakistan refused to renew the lease on thePeshawar Air Station (used by theCIA for intelligence gathering), which formally closed in 1969.^[3]

TheSoviet Union simultaneously deepened its defence partnership with India, supplyingMiG-21 fighter aircraft andT-55 tanks, while Pakistan—affected by the U.S. embargo—sought new partners.^[34] Pakistan turned increasingly toward thePeople’s Republic of China, which provided several hundredType 59 tanks,MiG-19 (J-6) fighter aircraft, and equipment for new infantry divisions.^[35] France also suppliedMirage III fighter jets andDaphne-class submarines, while limited purchases were made fromItaly andWest Germany.^[36]

These new sources of weaponry allowed Pakistan to gradually rebuild its armed forces, though the loss of U.S. support and the growing Indo–Soviet partnership left it relatively weaker in strategic terms during the late 1960s.^[32][34]

Pakistan had sent numerous military advisers toJordan andSyria to help in their training and military preparations for any potential war withIsrael. When the Six-Day War started, Pakistan assisted by sending a contingent of its pilots andairmen toEgypt, Jordan and Syria. PAF pilots downed about 10 Israeli planes including Mirages, Mysteres and Vautours without losing a single plane of their own.^[37]

Jordan and Iraq decorated East Pakistani Flight Lieutenant Saif-ul-Azam. Israelis also praised the performance of PAF pilots. Eizer Weizman, then Chief Of Israeli Air Force wrote in his autobiography about Air Marshal Noor Khan (Commander PAF at that time): "...He is a formidable person and I am glad that he is Pakistani and not Egyptian."^[38] No Pakistani ground forces participated in the war.

After the end of the Six-Day War, Pakistani advisors remained to train the Jordanian forces. In 1970, King Hussein of Jordan decided to remove the PLO from Jordan by force after a series of terrorist acts attributed to the PLO, which undermined Jordanian sovereignty. On September 16, King Hussein declared martial law. The next day, Jordanian tanks attacked the headquarters of Palestinian organisations in Amman. The head of Pakistan's training mission to Jordan, Brigadier-GeneralZia-ul-Haq (laterPresident of Pakistan), took command of the Jordanian Army's 2nd division and helped Jordan during this crisis.^[39]

Pakistan again assisted during the Yom Kippur War, sixteen PAF pilots volunteered for service in the Air Forces of Egypt and Syria. The PAF contingent deployed to Inchas Air Base (Egypt) led by Wing Commander Masood Hatif and five other pilots plus two air defence controllers. During this war, the Syrian government decorated Flight Lieutenant Sattar Alvi when he shot down an Israeli Mirage over the Golan Heights.^[40] The PAF pilots then became instructors in the Syrian Air Force at Dumayr Air Base and after the war Pakistan continued to send military advisers to Syria and Jordan. Apart from military advisers, no Pakistani ground forces participated in this war.

In 1969, South Yemen, which was under a communist regime and a strong ally of the USSR, attacked and captured Mount Vadiya inside the province of Sharoora in Saudi Arabia. Many PAF officers as well Army personnel who were serving in Khamis Mushayt training the Saudi Air Force (the closest airbase to the battlefield), took active part in this battle in which the enemy was ultimately driven back.^[40]

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Thefirst democratic elections in Pakistan were held in 1970 with theAwami League (AL) winning a substantial majority inEast Pakistan^[41] while thePakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won a majority inWest Pakistan. However talks on sharing power failed^[42] and PresidentYahya Khan declared martial law.^[43] PPP leaderZulfikar Ali Bhutto had refused to accept an AL government and declared he would "break the legs" of any of his party members who attended theNational Assembly. Capitalizing on West Pakistani fears of East Pakistani separatism, Bhutto demanded to form a coalition with AL leaderSheikh Mujibur Rahman. They agreed upon a coalition government, with Bhutto as president and Mujibur as prime minister, and put political pressure on Khan's military government. Pressured by the military, Khan postponed the inaugural session, and ordered the arrests of Mujibur and Bhutto.

Faced with popular unrest and revolt inEast-Pakistan, the army and navy attempted to impose order. Khan's military government orderedRear-AdmiralMohammad Shariff, Commander of Eastern Naval Command of the Pakistan Navy, andLieutenant-GeneralAmir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Commander of theEastern Military Command of Pakistan Army, to curb and liberate East Pakistan from the resistance. The navy and army crackdown and brutalities duringOperation Searchlight andOperation Barisal and thecontinued killings throughout the later months resulted in further resentment among theEast Pakistanis. With India assisting and funding theMukti Bahini, war broke out between the separatist supporters in Bangladesh and Pakistan (Indo-Pakistani War of 1971). During the conflict, the co-ordination between the armed forces of Pakistan were ineffective and unsupported. The army, navy, marines and air force were not consulted in major decisions, and each force led their own independent operations without notifying the higher command. To release the pressure from East Pakistan the Pakistan Army opened new front on the western sector when a 2,000-strong Pakistani force attacked the Indian outpost at Longewala held by 120 Indian soldiers of 23 Punjab regiment. The attack was backed by a tank regiment but without air support. The battle was decisively won by the Indian army with the help of the Indian Air Force, and was an example of poor co-ordination by Pakistan.

The war concluded with the surrender of thePakistan Armed Forces Eastern Command to Lieutenant GeneralJagjit Singh Aurora, representing theIndian Armed Forces and the alliedMukti Bahini, atDhaka on 16 December 1971. Under theInstrument of Surrender, approximately 93,000 Pakistani military personnel and civilians becameprisoners of war in India.^[44][45]The formal surrender marked the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, resulting in Pakistan’s defeat and the independence ofBangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).^[46]

The military government collapsed as a result of the war, and control of the country was handed over to the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Bhutto became the country's firstChief Martial Law Administrator and first Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Armed Forces. Taking authority in January 1972, Bhutto started a nuclear deterrence programme under Munir Ahmad Khan and his adviser Abdus Salam. In July 1972, Bhutto reached theShimla Agreement with Indira Gandhi of India, and brought back 93,000 POWs and recognised East-Pakistan as Bangladesh.

As part of re-organizing the country, Bhutto disbanded the "Commander-in-Chief" title in the Pakistan Armed Forces. He also decommissioned thePakistan Marines as a unit of Pakistan Navy. Instead, Chiefs of Staff were appointed in the three branches and Bhutto appointed all 4 star officers as the Chief of Staff in the Pakistan Armed Forces. GeneralTikka Khan, infamous for his role in Bangladesh Liberation War, become the firstChief of Army Staff; Admiral Mohammad Shariff, as first 4-star admiral in the navy and as the firstChief of Naval Staff; and,Air Chief Marshal (General)Zulfiqar Ali Khan, as first 4-star air force general, and the firstChief of Air Staff. Because the co-ordination between the armed forces were unsupported and ineffective, in 1976, Bhutto also created the office ofJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee for maintaining the co-ordination between the armed forces. GeneralMuhammad Shariff, a 4-star general, was made the firstChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Pakistan's defence spending rose by 200% during theBhutto's democratic era but the India–Pakistan military balance, which was near parity during the 1960s, was growing decisively in India's favour. Under Bhutto, theeducation system, foreign policy, and science policy was rapidly changed. The funding of science was exponentially increased, with classified projects at Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and Kahuta Research Laboratories. Bhutto also funded the classified military science and engineering projects entrusted and led by Lieutenant-GeneralZahid Ali Akbar of thePakistan Army Corps of Engineers.

The US lifted its arms embargo in 1975 and once again became a major source for military hardware, but by then Pakistan had become heavily dependent on China as an arms supplier. Heavy spending on defence re-energized the Army, which had sunk to its lowest morale following the debacle of the 1971 war. The high defence expenditure took money from other development projects such as education, health care and housing.

The Baloch rebellion of the 1970s was the most-threateningcivil disorder to Pakistan sinceBangladesh'ssecession. ThePakistan Armed Forces wanted to establish military garrisons inBalochistan Province, which at that time was quite lawless and run by tribal justice. The ethnic Balochis saw this as a violation of their territorial rights. Emboldened by the stand taken bySheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971, the Baloch and Pashtun nationalists had also demanded their "provincial rights" from then-Prime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto in exchange for a consensual approval of thePakistan Constitution of 1973. But while Bhutto admitted the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Balochistan to aNAP-JUI coalition, he refused to negotiate with the provincial governments led by chief ministerAtaullah Mengal inQuetta and Mufti Mahmud inPeshawar. Tensions erupted and an armed resistance began to take place.

Surveying the political instability, Bhutto's central government sacked two provincial governments within six months, arrested the two chief ministers, two governors and forty-four MNAs and MPAs, obtained an order from theSupreme Court banning the NAP and charged them all withhigh treason, to be tried by a specially constitutedHyderabad Tribunal of handpicked judges.

In time, the Baloch nationalist insurgency erupted and sucked the armed forces into the province, pitting the Baloch tribal middle classes againstIslamabad. The sporadic fighting between theinsurgency and the army started in 1973 with the largest confrontation taking place in September 1974 when around 15,000 Balochs fought the Pakistan Army, Navy and the Air Force. Following the successful recovery ofammunition in the Iraqi embassy, shipped by both Iraq and Soviet Union for the Baluchistan resistance,Naval Intelligence launched an investigation and cited that arms were smuggled from the coastal areas of Balochistan. The Navy acted immediately, and entered the conflict. Vice-Admiral Patrick Simpson, commander of Southern Naval Command, began to launch a series of operations under a naval blockade.

TheIranian military, which feared a spread of the greater Baloch resistance in Iran, aided Pakistan's military in putting down the insurrection.^[47] After three days of fighting the Baloch tribals were running out of ammunition and withdrew by 1976. The army had suffered 25 fatalities and around 300 casualties in the fight while the rebels lost 5,000 people as of 1977.

Although major fighting had broken down, ideologicalschisms causedsplinter groups to form and steadily gain momentum. Despite the overthrow of the Bhutto government in 1977 by GeneralZia-ul-Haque, Chief of Army Staff, calls forsecession and widespreadcivil disobedience remained. Themilitary government then appointed GeneralRahimuddin Khan asMartial Law Administrator over the Balochistan Province. The provincial military government under the famouslyauthoritarian General Rahimuddin began to act as a separateentity andmilitary regime independent of the central government.

This allowed Rahimuddin Khan to act as an absolute martial law administrator, unanswerable to the central government. Both Zia-ul-Haq and Rahimuddin Khan supported the declaration of a general amnesty in Balochistan to those willing to give up arms. Rahimuddin then purposefully isolatedfeudal leaders such asNawab Akbar Khan Bugti andAtaullah Mengal from provincial policy. He also put down all civil disobedience movements, effectively leading to unprecedentedsocial stability within the province. Due to martial law, his reign (1977–1984) was the longest in thehistory of Balochistan.

Tensions later resurfaced in the province with the Pakistan Army being involved in attacks against an insurgency known as theBalochistan Liberation Army. Attempted uprisings have taken place as recently as 2005.^[48]

During the 1977 elections, rumours of widespread voter fraud led to the civilian government under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto being overthrown in abloodless coup of July 1977 (SeeOperation Fair Play). The new ruler was Chief of Army Staff GeneralZia-ul-Haq who became Chief Martial Law Administrator in 1978. Zia-ul-Haq was appointed by Bhutto after Bhutto forced seventeen senior general officers to retire. Zia appointedMushtaq Hussain as chief jurist for Bhutto's case. Mushtaq Hussain was publicly known to hate Bhutto, and had played a controversial role in Bhutto's removal as foreign minister in 1965. As his judge, Hussain disrespected Bhutto and his hometown and denied any appeals. Under Zia's direction and Hussain's order, Bhutto was executed in 1979 after theSupreme Court upheld theHigh Court'sdeath sentence on charges of authorising the murder of a political opponent.^[49] Under Zia'smilitary dictatorship (which was declared legal under theDoctrine of Necessity by theSupreme Court in 1978) the following initiatives were taken:

• StrictIslamic law was introduced into the country's legal system by 1978, contributing to current-daysectarianism andreligious fundamentalism, and instilling a sense of religious purpose within the youth.
• Pakistan fought a war by proxy against theCommunists inAfghanistan in theSoviet–Afghan War, greatly contributing to the eventual withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan.
• Secessionist uprisings inBalochistan were put down by the province'sauthoritarian ruler, GeneralRahimuddin Khan, who ruled for an unprecedented seven years under martial law.
• Thesocialist economic policies of the previous civilian government, which included aggressivenationalisation, were gradually reversed; Pakistan'sGross National Product rose greatly.

Zia lifted martial law in 1985, holding party-less elections and handpickingMuhammad Khan Junejo to be thePrime Minister of Pakistan, who in turn reappointed Zia as Chief of Army Staff until 1990. Junejo however gradually fell out with Zia as his political and administrative independence grew – such as by asking his Minister of State to sign the Geneva Accord, which President Zia disliked. After a large-scale explosion at a munitions store inOjhri, Junejo vowed to bring those responsible for the significant damage caused to justice, implicating several times theInter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-GeneralAkhtar Abdur Rahman.

President Zia dismissed the Junejo government on several charges in May 1988. He then called for elections in November. Zia-ul-Haq died in aplane crash on August 17, 1988, which was later proven to be highly sophisticatedsabotage by unknown perpetrators.

Under Zia, defence spending increased an average 9 percent per annum during 1977–1988 while development spending rose 3 percent per annum; by 1987–88 defence spending had overtaken development spending. For the 1980s as a whole, defence spending averaged 6.5 percent of GDP. This contributed strongly to large fiscal deficits and a rapid buildup of public debt.^[50]

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Soon after Bhutto assumed control of Pakistan, he established nuclear weapons development.^[51] On January 20, 1972, Abdus Salam, after being requested by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, arranged and managed a secret meeting of academic scientists and engineers with Bhutto inMultan city.^{[citation needed]} It was there that Bhutto orchestrated, administered, and led the scientific research on nuclear weapons as he announced the official nuclear weapons development programme.^{[citation needed]} In 1972, Pakistan's core intelligence service, theISI, secretly learned thatIndia was close to developing an atomic bomb, under itsnuclear programme.^[51] Partially in response, defence expenditure andfunding of science under then-Prime Minister Bhutto increased by 200%.^[51] In the initial years,Abdus Salam, aNobel laureate, headed the nuclear weapons program as he was the prime minister'sscience adviser.^[52] He is also credited with recruiting hundreds of Pakistani scientists, engineers, and mathematicians to the nuclear weapons development program; he later formed and headed the Theoretical Physics Group (TPG), the special weapons division of thePakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) that developed the designs of the nuclear weapons.^[53]

Throughout that time, the foundations were laid down to develop a military nuclear capability. This included the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear weapons design, development and testing programme.^{[citation needed]} The fuel cycle program included the uranium exploration, mining, refining, conversion andUranium Hexafluoride (UF₆) production, enrichment and fuel fabrication and reprocessing facilities. These facilities were established in PAEC byMunir Ahmad Khan.^{[citation needed]} He was appointed PAEC Chairman on January 20, 1972, at the Multan Conference of senior scientists and engineers.^{[citation needed]} Earlier,Munir Ahmad Khan was serving as Director of Nuclear Power and Reactors Division,IAEA. He was credited as the "technical father" of Pakistan's atom project by a recent International Institute of Strategic Studies, London, (IISS) dossier on history of the Pakistan's nuclear development, with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the father of Pakistan's nuclear developmental programme.^[54] Munir Ahmad Khan, an expert in Plutonium technology, had also laid the foundation and groundbreaking work for the Plutonium reprocessing technology.^{[citation needed]} Khan, built theNew Laboratories, a plutonium reprocessing plant located in Islamabad.^{[citation needed]}

After Chief Martial Law Administrator (later president) and Chief of Army StaffGeneral Zia-ul-Haq came to power (seeOperation Fair Play), further advancements were made to enrich uranium and consolidate the nuclear development programme. On March 11, 1983, the PAEC underMunir Ahmad Khan carried out the first successful cold test of a working nuclear device near at theKirana Hills under codenameKirana-I.^{[citation needed]} The test was led byCERN-physicistIshfaq Ahmad, and was witnessed by other senior scientists belonging to Pakistan Armed Forces and the PAEC. To compound matters further, theSoviet Union had withdrawn fromAfghanistan and the strategic importance of Pakistan to the United States was gone. Once the full extent of Pakistan's nuclear weapons development was revealed,economic sanctions (seePressler amendment) were imposed on the country by several other countries, particularly the US. Having been developed under both Bhutto and Zia, the nuclear development programme had fully matured by the late 1980s.Abdul Qadeer Khan, ametallurgical engineer, greatly contributed to the uranium enrichment programme under both governments. A Q Khan established an administrative proliferation network through Dubai to smuggle URENCO nuclear technology toKhan Research Laboratories.^[55] He then established Pakistan's gas-centrifuge program based on the URENCO's Zippe-type centrifuge.^{[56][57][58][59][60]} Khan is considered to be the founder of Pakistan'sHEU-basedgas-centrifuge uranium enrichment programme,^[54] which was originally launched by PAEC in 1974.^[61]

The PAEC also played its part in the success and development of the uranium-enrichment programme by producing the uranium hexafluoride gas feedstock for enrichment. PAEC was also responsible for all the pre- and post-enrichment phases of the nuclear fuel cycle. By 1986 PAEC ChairmanMunir Ahmad Khan had begun work on the 50 MW plutonium and tritium production reactor at Khushab, known asKhushab Reactor Complex, which became operational by 1998. After India succeeded with five underground nuclear tests (codenamePokharan-II) inPokhran region in 1998, Pakistan, to the distaste of the international community, successfully carried out six underground nuclear tests inRas Koh region of theChagai Hills on May 28 (codenameChagai-I) and onKharan region (codenameChagai-II) on May 30, proving Pakistan's nuclear capability. These tests were supervised and observed by physicistSamar Mubarakmand and other senior academic scientists from PAEC and the KRL.

US Senator Pressler introduced the Pressler Amendment, which imposed an embargo on all economic and military aid to Pakistan for developing nuclear weapons.^[62] This caused very negative publicity in Pakistan towards the US as many people in Pakistan, and particularly thePakistani Armed Forces, believed they had been abandoned after they risked a great deal in helping thwart theSoviet Union inAfghanistan.^[63] Pakistan was hosting a very large Afghan refugee population and drugs from Afghanistan had infiltrated Pakistan where the use of heroin was growing into a widespread problem.

The embargo continued for five years and in 1995, the Brown Amendment authorised a one-time delivery of US military equipment, contracted for prior to October 1990, worth US$368 million. However, the additional 28 F-16 aircraft costing US$658 million and already paid for by Pakistan were not delivered. Unable to purchase American orNATO weaponry, Pakistan tried to develop a domestic weapons industry, which yielded some successes such as the development of theAl-Khalid Tank andJF-17 Strike Fighter.

During the Soviet occupation of neighbouring Afghanistan, the alliance between the United States and Pakistan was greatly strengthened as the US needed Pakistan as a staging area from which to send weapons to theMujahideens who were fighting the Soviets. Apprehensive of the two-front threat to Pakistan from India and from Soviet-occupied Afghanistan, the United States in 1981 offered a military aid package of over $1.5 billion, which included 40F-16 fighters, 100M-48 tanks, nearly 200 artillery guns and over 1,000 TOW anti-tank missiles, which considerably enhanced Pakistan's defence capability. During the course of the war, Pakistan experienced several air intrusions by Afghan/Soviet pilots and claimed to have shot down eight of these aircraft over the years while losing one F-16 from its own fleet.^[37]

The Pakistani military, aided by the US and financed bySaudi Arabia, began helping the Mujahideen in setting up training camps and arming them. US PresidentJimmy Carter had accepted the view that the Soviet aggression was a potential threat to thePersian Gulf region. The uncertain scope of the final objective ofMoscow in its sudden southward plunge made the American stake in an independent Pakistan all the more important.

Pakistan's ISI andSpecial Service Group (SSG) became actively involved in the conflict against the Soviets. The SSG created a unit called theBlack Storks who were SSG men dressed asAfghan Mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War. They were then flown into Afghanistan and provided the Mujahideen with support. AfterRonald Reagan was elected in 1980, US aid for the Mujahideen through Pakistan significantly increased. In retaliation, theKHAD, under Afghan PresidentMohammad Najibullah, carried out (according to theMitrokhin archives and other sources) a large number of terrorist operations against Pakistan, which also suffered from an influx of weaponry and drugs from Afghanistan. Pakistan took in 3 millionAfghan refugees (mostlyPashtun) who were forced to leave their country. Although the refugees were controlled within Pakistan's largestprovince,Balochistan, then undermartial law ruler GeneralRahimuddin Khan, the influx of so many refugees – believed to be the largest refugee population in the world^[64] – into several other regions had a lasting impact on Pakistan.

PLO andLebanese weapons captured by theIsraelis in theirinvasion of Lebanon in June 1982 were of Soviet origin and were then covertly transferred into Afghanistan through Pakistan. Later, when American support for the Mujahideen became obvious,Stinger Missiles and other high-technology American weaponry were transferred through Pakistan into Afghanistan. However some of these weapons may have been siphoned off by theISI forreverse engineering purposes. The arrival of the new high-technology weaponry proved to be quite helpful in organising stiff resistance against the Soviet Union. Many Army regulars fought in Afghanistan along with the resistance and contributed to the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989.

When Iraq occupiedKuwait, the Saudi government reached an agreement with Pakistan to have several brigades brought into the country to help in its defence. These brigades were placed under the orders of the Ministry of Defense and deployed inTabuk andKhamis Mushayt.^[65]

After the Soviet withdrawal, Pakistan for the first time since 1947, was not concerned about a threat on two fronts. Further, the emergence of five independent Muslim republics in Central Asia raised hopes that they might become allies and offer Pakistan both the political support and thestrategic depth it lacked. As long as Afghanistan was in chaos, Pakistan would lack direct access to the new republics.

Fighting between the Communist government in Kabul and the Mujahideen forces continued until 1992 when the Mujahideen forces, led by Ahmed Shah Massoud, removed the Soviet-backed government of Mohammad Najibullah. By 1993, the rival factions who were vying for power agreed on the formation of a government withBurhanuddin Rabbani as president, but infighting continued. Lawlessness was rampant and became a major hindrance to trade between Pakistan and the newly independent Central Asian states. Pakistan appointed the Taliban to protect its trade convoys because most of the Taliban were Pashtun and were trained by the ISI and CIA in the 1980s and could be trusted by Pakistan.^[66] With Pakistan's backing, the Taliban emerged as one of the strongest factions in Afghanistan. Pakistan then decided to the end the infighting in Afghanistan and backed the Taliban in their takeover of Afghanistan to bring stability to its western border and establish a pro-Pakistan regime in Kabul.

Pakistan solicited funds for the Taliban, bankrolled Taliban operations, providing diplomatic support as the Taliban's virtual emissaries abroad, arranged training for Taliban fighters, recruited skilled and unskilled manpower to serve in Taliban armies, planned and directed offensives, providing and facilitating shipments of ammunition and fuel, and on several occasions senior Pakistani military and intelligence officers help plan and execute major military operations.^[67] By September 1996, the Taliban under the leadership of Mullah Muhammad Omar seized control of Kabul. However, the stability in Afghanistan led Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri to come to Afghanistan, which caused the Taliban to implement a very strict interpretation of Islamic law. The Taliban continued to capture more Afghan territory until by 2001 they controlled 90% of the country.^[66]

After theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971, tensions betweenIndia andPakistan resurfaced in 1984 over the un-demarcatedSiachen Glacier, located in the easternKarakoram Range of theHimalayas.^[68] The glacier and the surrounding region were not delineated in the 1949Karachi Agreement or the 1972Simla Agreement, leaving both sides to interpret the boundary line differently.^[69]

In April 1984, India launchedOperation Meghdoot, preemptively occupying key heights along theSaltoro Ridge and taking control of most of the Siachen Glacier before Pakistan could do so.^[70] Since then, the glacier has remained under Indian administration, while Pakistani forces maintain positions to its west. Both sides have maintained permanent military outposts at extreme altitudes, making Siachen the world’s highest battlefield.^[71]

Pakistan launched limited attempts in 1987 and 1989 to capture Indian-held positions but was repelled in both instances.^[70] The de facto boundary between the two militaries is known as theActual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which runs roughly north–south along the Saltoro Ridge separating Indian and Pakistani positions.^[72]

After the failure of earlier Pakistani attempts to gain ground near theSiachen Glacier, a new plan was formulated by thePakistan Army in the late 1980s to interdictIndia’s supply route to Siachen by occupying strategic heights overlooking theSrinagar–Leh Highway.^[73] The plan, proposed by officers under theNorthern Command, was postponed over concerns that it could escalate into a full-scale war.^[74]

In the winter of 1998–99, the operation—later known as theKargil War—was revived after both countries conducted nuclear tests, which Pakistani planners believed would deter large-scale retaliation by India.^[75] Units from theNorthern Light Infantry, elements of theSpecial Services Group (SSG), and irregular fighters crossed theLine of Control (LoC) in the Kargil sector ofJammu and Kashmir and occupied high-altitude positions that were vacated during the winter months.^[76]

Indian patrols discovered the infiltration in May 1999, triggering heavy fighting along the ridges. India launchedOperation Vijay, deploying about 30,000 troops to dislodge the intruders.^[77] Despite initial Pakistani tactical gains, Indian forces gradually recaptured the majority of the occupied peaks by late July 1999 through intense mountain warfare supported by theIndian Air Force underOperation Safed Sagar.^[78]

Facing mounting international pressure and U.S. diplomatic intervention,Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif met withU.S. PresidentBill Clinton in Washington, D.C., on 4 July 1999, after which Pakistan agreed to withdraw its remaining troops from the Indian side of the LoC.^[79]

By 26 July 1999, Indian forces had regained control of most of the positions originally occupied by Pakistani troops. The conflict resulted in an estimated 450 Pakistani and 527 Indian fatalities.^[80] The war ended with Pakistan’s withdrawal across the Line of Control and India’s declaration of victory.^[81]

See:1999 Pakistani coup d'état

Many people in Pakistan blamed Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif for retreating from Kargil under American pressure. Growing fiscal deficits and debt-service payments due to sanctions from nuclear weapon tests in 1998 had led to a financial crisis. When asked about his reason for backing down from Kargil, Sharif said that Pakistan had only enough fuel and ammunition for 3 days and the nuclear missiles were not ready at that time. This comment made many Pakistanis brand Sharif a traitor as Army doctrine called for having at least 45 days of fuel and ammunition and to have nuclear missiles ready.

Fearing that the Army might take over, Sharif attempted to dismiss his own appointed Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee GeneralPervez Musharraf and install an ISI director-general Lieutenant-General Ziauddin Butt as Chief of Army Staff. Musharraf, who was out of the country, boarded a commercial flight to return to Pakistan, but senior army generals refused to accept Musharraf's dismissal. Sharif ordered the Karachi airport to prevent the landing of the airline, which then circled the skies overKarachi. In a coup d'état, the generals ousted Sharif's administration and took over the airport. The plane landed with only a few minutes of fuel, and Musharraf assumed control of the government. Sharif was put under house arrest and later exiled.

The coup d'état was condemned by most world leaders but was mostly supported by Pakistanis.^[82] The new military government of Musharraf was heavily criticised in the US, Saudi Arabia, and UK. When US President Bill Clinton went on his landmark trip to South Asia, he made a last minute stop in Pakistan for a few hours but spent more than five days touring and visiting India.^[83] Pakistan was also suspended from theCommonwealth of Nations while Musharraf pledged to clean corruption out of politics and stabilise the economy.

On August 18, 2008, Musharraf resigned as president under impeachment pressure from the coalition government. He was succeeded on September 6, 2008 byAsif Ali Zardari, duly elected as Pakistan's 11th president since 1956.^[84][85][86]

A militant attack on theIndian Parliament on December 13, 2001, resulted in the deaths of fourteen people, including the five perpetrators. Claim is that the attacks were carried out by Indian terrorists who used to disturb the peace in India,^[87] This led to a military standoff betweenIndia andPakistan which amassed troops on either side of theInternational Border (IB) and along theLine of Control (LoC) inKashmir. In theWestern media, coverage of the standoff focused on the possibility of anuclear war between the two countries and the implications of the potential conflict on the US-ledWar on Terrorism. Tensions de-escalated following international diplomatic mediation, which resulted in the October 2002 withdrawal of Indian^[88] and Pakistani troops^[89] from the International Border.

Pakistan andSri Lanka enjoy a strong relationship andColombo was used as a refueling stop when India denied Pakistan overflight permissions prior to the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971.^[90] Pakistan has sent military advisers, ammunition and other equipment to Sri Lanka during previous offensives against theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Many Sri Lankan officers are trained in Pakistan, the cadre which include Sri Lankan PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa. In 2000, when a LTTE offensive code-named Operation Ceaseless Waves overran Sri Lankan military positions in the north and captured the Elephant Pass Base and entered Jaffna, and it was being feared that the LTTE would run down thousands of Sri Lankan troops stationed in Jaffna, Pakistan supplied multi-barrel rocket launcher systems and other weaponry, which halted the offensive.^[91]

Pakistan, by supplying high-tech military equipment such as 22 Al-Khalid main battle tanks, 250,000 rounds of mortar ammunition and 150,000 hand grenades, and sending army officers to Sri Lanka, played a key role in the ultimate defeat of Tamil Tigers in May 2009.^[92]

Pakistan Air Force pilots also lead a bombing campaign against LTTE forces in 2008.^[93][94][95]

After theSeptember 11 attacks in the United States, Pakistan joined the US-ledwar on terror and helped theUS military by severing ties with the Taliban and immediately deploying more than 72,000 troops along Pakistan's western border to capture or kill Taliban andal-Qaida militants fleeing Afghanistan.

Pakistan initially garrisoned its troops in military bases and forts in the tribal areas until several high-profile terrorist attacks inside Pakistan and assassination attempts on Pervez Musharraf in May 2004. Musharraf orderedXII Corps andXI Corps to be stationed inFederally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region and take forceful action against al-Qaeda members in Pakistan's mountainousWaziristan area (in the FATA), which escalated into armed resistance by local tribesmen. March 2004 marked the beginning of theBattle of Wana in South Waziristan. It was reported that al-Qaeda's second-in-commandAyman al-Zawahiri was amongst these fighters. Pakistan responded to deploy its 10th Mountaineering Division under Major-GeneralNoel Israel. After a week of fighting, the army suffered major casualties with hundreds of fighters being captured. However, army was unable to captureal-Zawahiri who either escaped or was not among the fighters.

Clashes erupted between the Pakistani troops and al-Qaeda and other militants joined by local rebels and pro-Taliban forces. The Pakistani actions were presented as a part of thewar on terrorism, and had connections to thewar andTaliban insurgency inAfghanistan.^[96][97] However, the offensive was poorly coordinated and the Pakistan Army suffered heavy casualties and public support for the attack quickly evaporated.

After a 2-year conflict from 2004 until 2006, the Pakistani military negotiated a ceasefire known as theWaziristan Accord with the Pro-Taliban Tribesmen from the region in which they pledged to hunt downal-Qaeda members, stop the Talibanization of the region and stop attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the militants did not hold up their end of the bargain and began to regroup and rebuild their strength from the previous 2 years of conflict.

Islamic fundamentalists students ofLal Masjid inIslamabad, emboldened and inspired by the tribesmen's success inFATA, formed their ownprivate militia and sought to impose their interpretation ofSharia within Pakistan's capitalIslamabad. After a 6-month standoff, fighting erupted again in July 2007 when thePakistani Militarydecided to use force to end the Lal Masjid militia.^{[98][99][100]} Once the operation ended, as a reaction the newly formedPakistani Taliban, an umbrella group of militants based out ofFederally Administered Tribal Areas, vowed revenge and a wave of attacks and suicide bombings erupted all overNorth-West Pakistan and major Pakistani cities throughout 2007.^[101]

The militants then expanded their base of operations and moved into the neighboringSwat Valley and imposed a very harsh Sharia Law. The Army launched an offensive to re-take the Swat Valley in 2007 but was unable to clear it of the militants who had fled into the mountains and waited for the Army to leave to take over the valley again. The militants then launched another wave of terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.

The Pakistani government and military tried another peace deal with the militants in Swat Valley in 2008. This was roundly criticized in the West as abdicating to the militants. Initially pledging to lay down their arms if Sharia Law was implemented, the Pakistani Taliban used Swat Valley as a springboard to launch further attacks into neighboring regions and reached to within 60 kilometres (37 mi) of Islamabad.

Public opinion turned decisively against the Pakistani Taliban when a video showed the flogging of a girl by the Pakistani Taliban in Swat Valley. This forced the army to launch a decisive attack against the Taliban occupying Swat Valley in April 2009.^[102] After heavy fighting the Swat Valley was largely pacified by July 2009 although isolated pockets of Taliban activity continued.

The next phase of the Pakistan Army's offensive was the formidable Waziristan region. A US drone attack killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban,Baitullah Mehsud in August in atargeted killing. A power struggle engulfed the Pakistani Taliban for the whole of September but by October a new leader had emerged,Hakimullah Mehsud. Under his leadership, the Pakistani Taliban launched another wave of terrorist attacks throughout Pakistan, killing hundreds of people.

The Pakistan Army had been massing over 30,000 troops and 500 commandos to launch a decisive offensive against the Pakistani Taliban's sanctuaries. After a few weeks of softening up the targets with air strikes, artillery and mortar attacks, the Army moved in a three-pronged attack on South Waziristan. The war ended with a decisive Pakistani victory.

Since the conflict began, Pakistan has lost more than three times the number of its soldiers compared to the number of US troops killed in Afghanistan. However, as of 2009, the confirmed bodycount of militants killed by the Pakistan Army reached 7,000.^[103]

• Indo-Pakistani Wars
• Military history of the North-West Frontier
• History of the Pakistan Air Force
• Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction

• Cloughley, Brian.A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections (4th ed. 2014); 416pp
• Stephen P. Cohen (1998).The Pakistan Army. Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-577948-7.
• Jessica Stern and Hassan Abbas (2004).Pakistan's Drift Into Extremism: Allah, The Army, And America's War On Terror. M.E. Sharpe.ISBN 0-7656-1497-9.
• Gul Hassan Khan (1994).Memoirs of Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan : (The Last Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army) (The Last Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army). Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-577447-7.
• Ayub, Muhammad (2005). An Army, its Role and Rule: A History of the Pakistan Army from Independence to Kargil 1947–1999. Pittsburgh: RoseDog Books.ISBN 0-8059-9594-3.

• Pakistan Military Guide
• Fifty Years of the Pakistan ArmyArchived April 4, 2006, at theWayback Machine
• History of Pak Army

• Military history of Pakistan

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