XI Corps (Pakistan)
The XI Corps is a corps of Pakistan Army. The XI Corps is the only one corps that is assigned in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is currently stationed in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtaunkhuwa. The Corps was established and quickly raised in 1975 to support administrative military operational units in the NWFP and Northern Areas. The corps is internationally distinguished for its involvement in Soviet–Afghan War.
Afghan War
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. For more than a decade it held the line against Soviet expansionism.Kargil War
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.War on Terror
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.List of Commanders XI Corps
Composition
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:| Formations | Location |
| HQ XI Corps | Peshawar |
| 7th Infantry Division | Peshawar |
| 9th Infantry Division | Kohat |
| Independent Armoured Brigade: | Nowshera |
| Independent Engineer Brigade | U/I Location |
| Independent Signal Brigade | U/I Location |