Pak Army to grow by 180,000; Change to offensive posture?

[rubyjackass]

Although the news is not making noise on PDF, it very much should. Pakistan Army has quietly increased the number of officers it inducts in PMA Kakul by 33%. Usually that is done when you are planning to increase your military's size.

It is a slow process of course. It will take at least 5-10 years to implement this change as it inducts an extra battalion of officers each year, currently PMA trains 3 battalions of officers. That is a significant increase in size.

Why do you guys think Pak Army is increasing it's size?

Here are possible reasons:

1. The incoming troops might be deployed in three Strike Corps with offensive objectives in any future war.
2. These troops might be for a future Expeditionary Force with foreign deployment planned. The situation in middle east is becoming worse day by day, and we might deploy these soldiers to KSA or other battlefields in the Middle East.
3. Pakistan is forming a new branch of Army. With new deadly weapons like Nasr being inducted, Pak Fauj might need a new artillery corps with a very specific purpose in mind.
4. Might need extra troops to permanently secure our Eastern border with Afghanistan, as you may already know, currently Pakistan has deployed 150,000 soldiers in KPK and FATA. With these incoming troops, we can turn our focus back to our herbivorous neighbors.
5. The new troops may be used to secure CPEC. But i feel that is highly unlikely, the number of troops deployed by FC are sufficient.

Would like everyone's input on this.

Hi Salar, Any reliable sources for the increase in Kakul recruits? Also if you have numbers regarding the forces that will be recuited for CPEC, please post them.

 

[SipahSalar]

Hi Salar, Any reliable sources for the increase in Kakul recruits? Also if you have numbers regarding the forces that will be recuited for CPEC, please post them.

Hello, here is the source: Army to increase intake of cadets at PMA - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

No idea about CPEC forces.

 

[Ray_of_Hope]

Great news.It will help greatly in protecting both the eastern and western borders of Pakistan.And the important thing will be that we will be able to hold a more aggressive stance against our eastern friends.

 

[SipahSalar]

Wondering if it's changed with the expansion. In the past, I've read, army is mostly Punjabi with Pushtuns represented in excess of their proportion to the population. Expansion is opportunity to make officer corps more representative.

You are right about armies representing the ethnic make up of a nation. Unfortunately the Baloch and Sindhi recruits often fail to meet the academic requirements of Pak Army. But serious efforts are underway to recruit many more Balochs into the army.

4,000 Baloch inducted in Pakistan Army - The Express Tribune

Army to recruit 10,000 Baloch youth - The Express Tribune

 

[Super Falcon]

Good we need more boots in the ground

 

[Mutakalim]

180,000 increase in troops.
highly doubt that.

Is there a break-down by province of where the officers come from or does the P.A. not care about such things?

Quota system.

 

[waz]

Army size is 644,000 personal. For a nation of 200 million people, that's fair.

 

[Humble Analyst]

Although the news is not making noise on PDF, it very much should. Pakistan Army has quietly increased the number of officers it inducts in PMA Kakul by 33%. Usually that is done when you are planning to increase your military's size.

It is a slow process of course. It will take at least 5-10 years to implement this change as it inducts an extra battalion of officers each year, currently PMA trains 3 battalions of officers. That is a significant increase in size.

Why do you guys think Pak Army is increasing it's size?

Here are possible reasons:

1. The incoming troops might be deployed in three Strike Corps with offensive objectives in any future war.
2. These troops might be for a future Expeditionary Force with foreign deployment planned. The situation in middle east is becoming worse day by day, and we might deploy these soldiers to KSA or other battlefields in the Middle East.
3. Pakistan is forming a new branch of Army. With new deadly weapons like Nasr being inducted, Pak Fauj might need a new artillery corps with a very specific purpose in mind.
4. Might need extra troops to permanently secure our Eastern border with Afghanistan, as you may already know, currently Pakistan has deployed 150,000 soldiers in KPK and FATA. With these incoming troops, we can turn our focus back to our herbivorous neighbors.
5. The new troops may be used to secure CPEC. But i feel that is highly unlikely, the number of troops deployed by FC are sufficient.

Would like everyone's input on this.

There is approximately shortage of 18 percent officers so If I have to guess Pakistan army will increase about 7-10 percent. 18 percent should cover short fall, 5-7percent may be required to handle advanced systems and sophisticated communication max Pakistan may increase 2 divs. It is also a possibility that younger officers maybe given command, reducing time for promotion to Lt. Colonel and may result in earlier retirements? Who knows. All are speculations. Drawing a conclusion that if 33% officer intake is increased Pakistan Army size will increase with same ratio is premature. Pakistan needs officers for CPEC and India is raising a Mountain Strike Corp so have to counter that.

For a country of Pakistan size,we need something around 1 Million strong army.

Though i believe the recent increase is because we have deployed 1/4th of our army on western border and we are short of required troops on the eastern border

We need more planes namely air Superiority Planes and SAMs for Air Force, Helicopters and Tanks for Army plus sophisticated communication and defense equipment. For all this need more officers.

 

[Donatello]

As long as the economy can sustain these suggested expansions, it is all good. The economy is the key. Always.

Raising of corps is always a very slow and gradual process. Because you have to figure where individual division, brigades, battalions, units etc would be deployed.

For example the Units deployed at Pano Aqil in Sindh are under Karachi Corps.

It is not like they will just raise a corps in one go.

With CPEC, more troops are needed for the vast expanse of Balochistan

 

[VCheng]

Raising of corps is always a very slow and gradual process. Because you have to figure where individual division, brigades, battalions, units etc would be deployed.

For example the Units deployed at Pano Aqil in Sindh are under Karachi Corps.

It is not like they will just raise a corps in one go.

With CPEC, more troops are needed for the vast expanse of Balochistan

As long as the growth of the economy is commensurate with whatever rate of expansion is planned, it will work out well.

 

[45'22']

This thread should be deleted @waz

The damage has been done

 

[Indus Falcon]

Army size is 644,000 personal. For a nation of 200 million people, that's fair.

This is active personnel, excluding reserves.

 

[RiazHaq]

Brian Cloughly, the author of a book on Pakistan Army, says Pakistan is suffering from officer shortages to move to a three command structure with 3 HQs: Northern, Central and Southern.

Cloughly was quoted by Defense News as saying: "“The big problem with this is nonavailability of high-quality officers for the three separate HQs. The Army is already suffering badly from an officer shortage, and such a massive staff expansion will really strain it.”

Pakistan Army's Shift to Three-Command Model Inches Forward | Defense News | defensenews.com

The increase in PMA enrollment is probably an attempt to correct this problem.

 

[Reverse Thinker]

Nice step...
Gurella Wars ko counter karney ke lyeh aik special battalion to honey chaheye modern weapons and fully modern communication & sattelite technology se laise kiyu ke proxy war shuru kr ke pher ussi ke bahaney Muslim Countries ko Khtm kiya ja raha hy one by one kar ke. Middle east main power ka tawazun shift ho raha hy jo kisi bhi bari jang main tabdeel ho sakta hy aor humain kisi bhi humsaey py bhroosa ni aor na krna bhi chaheye siwaey China ke, Iran bhi maoqa milnay par shrarat krta rehta hy recently cost guards ka waqia hi deekh leen, Afghanistan py to 100% bhi bhroosa ni, india py tu 200% bhroosa ni wo tu already enemy no.1 hy.

 

[MastanKhan]

Brian Cloughly, the author of a book on Pakistan Army, says Pakistan is suffering from officer shortages to move to a three command structure with 3 HQs: Northern, Central and Southern.

Cloughly was quoted by Defense News as saying: "“The big problem with this is nonavailability of high-quality officers for the three separate HQs. The Army is already suffering badly from an officer shortage, and such a massive staff expansion will really strain it.”

Pakistan Army's Shift to Three-Command Model Inches Forward | Defense News | defensenews.com

The increase in PMA enrollment is probably an attempt to correct this problem.

Hi,

There is no reason for not to have 3-----. Actually they need to have 5----one in multan and one in Gwadar along with the 3 you mentioned----.