The Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers is a military administrative and the engineering staff branch of the Pakistan Army.[2] The Corps of Engineers is generally associated with the civil engineering works, dams, canals, and flood protection, it performs and leads variety of public works in the country as part of its nation-building mission.[2]
| Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the Corps of Engineers | |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Branch |  Pakistan Army |
| Type | Combat support service |
| Role | Administrative and staffing oversight of combat engineering. |
| Size | 34 battalions |
| HQ/Garrison | Army GHQ, Rawalpindi-46100, Punjab in Pakistan. |
| Nickname(s) | ENGRS |
| Motto(s) | Urdu: روحِ رواں "The Moving Spirit"[1] |
| Colors identification | |
| Engagements/Civil Operations | |
| Website | Pakistan Army − Engineers |
| Commanders | |
| Engineer-in-Chief | Lt-Gen. Kashif Nazir |
| Notable commanders | Lt-Gen. Aftab Ahmad Khan Lt-Gen. Bakhtiar Rana Lt-Gen. Gul Hassan Khan Lt-Gen. Zahid Ali Akbar Lt-Gen. Javed Nasir Lt-Gen. Anwar Khan |
| Insignia | |
| War Flag |  |
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The Corps of Engineer is commanded by the Engineer-in-Chief who acts as an army's chief topographer, and advises the Army GHQ on matters of civil engineering and construction.[3] As of 2023, the current Engineer-in-Chief is Lt-Gen. Kashif Nazir.
History
editThe engineering arm of the Pakistan Army was commissioned as an administrative branch when it was partitioned from the former British Indian Army's Royal Indian Engineers in 1947.[4] The Bengal and Bombay engineer group laid the foundation of establishing the engineering arm of the Pakistan Army.[5]
From 1947 till 1956, the engineering arm was known as "Royal Pakistan Engineers" since it was under the royal patronage, with many British officers serving in the engineering arm.: 58–59 [6][7]
In 1956, Royal Pakistan Engineers changed its designation to the Corps of Engineers.[8] From 1947–69, the Corps of Engineers were an instrument for Pakistan Army to engage in building massive infrastructure, dams, canals, roads, and variety of other important public works projects as part of its nation-building mission.[9] The education and training for the personnel to be commissioned in the corps of engineer is provided at the Military College of Engineering (MCE).: 55 [10]
The Corps of Engineers is commanded by the Engineer-in-Chief (E-in-C), usually at active-duty three-star rank, Lieutenant-General, who serves as the chief topographer and principle engineer in advising the Army GHQ and the Government of Pakistan on important matters on civil engineering, construction, surveys, and topography.: 2–6 [11]: 395 [12]
Current units
edit1 Engr
2 Engr (ICHDEIN)(Makran Sappers)(1803)
3 Engr (Behtreen)
4 Engr (Jurrat o Istaklaal)
5 Engr (Laraka Panja)(King George V's Own)
6 Engr (The Mighty Six)
7 Engr (Sath Har Dum Sath)
8 Engr
9 Engr
10 Engr
11 Engr (The Builders)
12 Engr (Shaheen)
14 Engr (As Sabiqoon) (Honour dignity pride) (Re builders of NWA)
16 Engr (Al Muqadim)
18 Engr (Dheshat)
19 Engr (Chaghai Sappers)
20 Engr (Hama Tan Tyar Sappers)
21 Engr
22 Engr
23 Engr ( Kashmir Sappers)
24 Engr ( Surkhroo)
25 Engr (The Strikers)
26 Engr (Desert Sappers)
35 Lt Br Bn Engr (EL MECHILI)(The ARMOUR Bourne)
55 IND Fd Coy
62 Engr (Allah Ho)
100 Engr
101 Engr (Khunjrabees)
102 Engr (Quaid Sappers)
103 Engr (Allah O Akbar)
104 Engr (The Star Fighter Brigade)
105 Engr (Unthak Sappers)(Skardu 1967)
106 Engr
107 Engr (Tigers of KKH)
108 Engr
109 Engr (Al Azb Sappers)
122 Fd Coy Engr
129 Fd Coy Engr
151 Pioneer Bn
173 Engr (Paka 71)
174 Engr (Pioneers of KKH)
176 Engr (Ek So chehatar Sab Se Behter)
177 BR Engr (The Chronicle of Tayyar Barq Raftar)
313 Assault Engr (Al Badr Sappers)
314 Assault Engr (Al Mugheerat)
316 Mechanised Engr
474 Engr
477 ASGE (Army Survey Group Engineers)
495 Engr
518 Engr (The Zone Seizures)
630 EOD (Daring Saviours)
662 Engr
752 CT Engr
Public works
editThe Corps of Engineers has been commissioned by the Government of Pakistan to undertake massive civil engineering projects by designing and building the Karakoram Highway which, in 1960s in Pakistan, was the largest public works initiative in the country that connected the China and Pakistan across the Himalayas 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.[13][14] During the Kashmir earthquake in 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, regional army headquarters, as well as supporting the nuclear weapons program related national defense's weapons laboratories and its related test sites.[2][15]
References
edit- ^ "PAKISTAN ARMY". www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d PA, Pakistan Army. "Corps of Engineers". Pakistan Army. Directorate General for Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR). Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ^ "Major-General Ashfaq Nadeem made Director General Military Operations". The Nation (Pakistan). 16 April 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ Sandes, E. W. C. (1956). The Indian Engineers 1939–47. Kirkee: Institution of Military Engineers.
- ^ Rego, CJ (2012). Cradle of Valour - The History of the Regimental Centre of The Bombay Sappers. Headquarters Bombay Engineer Group and Centre.
- ^ Fair, C. Christine (2014). Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-989270-9. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Corps of Engineers". Pakistan Army web portal. Government of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 5 July 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Engineers – Pakistan Army". Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Moore, Raymond A. (1979). Nation Building and the Pakistan Army, 1947-1969. Aziz Publishers. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Cheema, Pervaiz Iqbal (2002). The Armed Forces of Pakistan. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-1633-5. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Shanker, PC (1 January 2023). Army- Real Rulers of Pakistan. Neha Publishers & Distributors.
- ^ Fagoyinbo, Joseph Babatunde (2013). The Armed Forces: Instrument of Peace, Strength, Development and Prosperity. Author House. ISBN 978-1-4772-1844-0. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Lonely Planet Karakoram Archived 11 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Khalid, PA, Brigadier Mumtaz. "History of KKH". Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers. Brigadier (retired) Khalid Mumtaz, Commander of 158th Engineers Brigade. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ Rahman, Shahidur (1999). Long road to Chagai§ The Background. Karachi, Oxford, and Lahore: Printwise Publications.