The Pakistan Army (Urdu: پاک فوج) is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. The Pakistan Army is a volunteer professional fighting force.[3] It has an active force of 612,000 personnel.[1] The Pakistani constitution contains a provision for conscription, but it has never been imposed. Since independence, the Army has been involved in four wars with neighbouring India and several border skirmishes with Afghanistan. It maintained division and brigade strength presences in some of the Arab countries during the past Arab-Israeli Wars, and aided the Coalition in the first Gulf War. Other major operations undertaken by the Army include Operation Black Thunderstorm and Operation Rah-e-Nijat. Apart from conflicts, the Army has been an active participant in UN missions and played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent. The President of Pakistan is the Commander-in-Chief and supreme commander of the Army. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), by statute a four star general (placed in Article 6 of the Warrant of Precedence of Pakistan) subordinate to the Defence Minister (placed in Artilce 5 of the Warrant of Precedence of Pakistan) but senior to the Secretary General/Secretary Defence (positioned in article 10/16 of the Warrant of Precedence of Pakistan respectively), commands the Army.
