Pakistan Navy in the context of "Pakistan Air Force"

The Bangladesh Liberation War (Bengali: মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, pronounced [mukt̪iɟud̪d̪ʱo]), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which resulted in the independence of Bangladesh. The war began when the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan—under the orders of Yahya Khan—launched Operation Searchlight against East Pakistanis on the night of 25 March 1971, initiating the Bangladesh genocide.

In response to the violence, members of the Mukti Bahini—a guerrilla resistance movement formed by Bengali military, paramilitary and civilians—launched a mass guerrilla war against the Pakistani military, liberating numerous towns and cities in the war's initial months. At first, the Pakistan Army regained momentum during the monsoon, but Bengali guerrillas counterattacked by carrying out widespread sabotage, including through Operation Jackpot against the Pakistan Navy, while the nascent Bangladesh Air Force flew sorties against Pakistani military bases. India joined the war on 3 December 1971 in support of the Mukti Bahini, after Pakistan launched preemptive air strikes on northern India. The subsequent Indo-Pakistani War involved fighting on two fronts; with air supremacy achieved in the eastern theater and the rapid advance of the Allied Forces of Mukti Bahini and the Indian military, Pakistan surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December 1971, in what remains to date the largest surrender of armed personnel since the Second World War.

Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) is a multinational naval task force, set up in 2009 as a response to piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the eastern coast of Somalia. Its mission is to disrupt piracy and armed robbery at sea and to engage with regional and other partners to build capacity and improve relevant capabilities in order to protect global maritime commerce and secure freedom of navigation. It operates in conjunction with the EU's Operation Atalanta and NATO's Operation Ocean Shield.

As of January 22, 2025, the commander of CTF-151 is Commodore Sohail Ahmed Azmie of the Pakistan Navy.

The Pakistan Armed Forces (Urdu: پاکستان مسلح افواج; pronounced [ˈpɑːkˌɪstaːn mʊˈsəlˌle(ɦ) əfˈwɑːd͡ʒ]) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's seventh-largest military measured by active military personnel and consists of three uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backed by several paramilitary forces such as the National Guard and the Civil Armed Forces. As of the 2025 reforms, the highest-ranking military officer is the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), who also serves concurrently as Chief of Army Staff (COAS), holding principal command authority over all three branches and overseeing war strategy, operations, joint force development, and resource allocation. The office of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) has been abolished, and many prior responsibilities are now assumed by the CDF, streamlining military command and accelerating decision-making.

A pivotal part of the 2025 reforms is the formation of the position of Commander of National Strategic Command (CNSC), a four-star army general appointed by the Prime Minister upon the CDF’s recommendation and is responsible for Pakistan’s nuclear and strategic assets. The Strategic Plans Division remains crucial, managing nuclear policy of Pakistan and national deterrent under the CNSC’s supervision. The President of Pakistan is the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. All branches of Pakistan Armed Forces are now coordinated through the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), who directs strategic planning, resource allocation, and joint military operations, with the Joint Staff Headquarters (JSHQ) being reorganised to support integrated command across all services from the Joint Staff Headquarters (JSHQ).

The Upholder/Victoria-class submarines, also known as the Type 2400 (due to their displacement of 2,400 tonnes), are a class of diesel-electric submarines built in the United Kingdom in the 1980s to supplement the nuclear submarines in the Submarine Service of the British Royal Navy.

The boats were originally named the Upholder class, after the most renowned vessel of the former U class. Their British service life was short, with the vessels being decommissioned in 1994. After an unsuccessful bid to transfer these submarines to the Pakistan Navy in 1993–1994, the Canadian government eventually purchased the submarines and a suite of trainers from the Royal Navy for Canadian Forces Maritime Command (renamed to Royal Canadian Navy in 2011) to replace their decommissioned Oberon-class submarines in 1998.

A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Kenya.

In the 17th century, a midshipman was a rating for an experienced seaman, and the word derives from the area aboard a ship, amidships, either where he worked on the ship, or where he was berthed. Beginning in the 18th century, a commissioned officer candidate was rated as a midshipman, and the seaman rating began to slowly die out. By the Napoleonic era (1793–1815), a midshipman was an apprentice officer who had at least nominally served at least three years as a volunteer, officer's servant or able seaman, and was roughly equivalent to a present-day petty officer in rank and responsibilities. After serving at least three years as a midshipman or master's mate, he was eligible to take the examination for lieutenant. Promotion to lieutenant was not automatic, and many midshipmen took positions as master's mates for an increase in pay and responsibility aboard ship. Midshipmen in the United States Navy were trained and served similarly to midshipmen in the Royal Navy, although unlike their counterparts in the Royal Navy, a midshipman was a warrant officer rank until 1912.

The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) (Urdu: انٹر سروسز انٹیلی جنس) is the military intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing information from around the world that is deemed relevant to Pakistan's national security. The main objective of the ISI is to integrate the Pakistan Armed Forces during wartime with real-time intelligence and support. The ISI reports to its agency executive and is primarily focused on providing intelligence to the Government of Pakistan and the Pakistan Armed Forces. It is part of the Pakistan Intelligence Community.

The ISI primarily consists of serving military officers drawn on secondment from the three service branches of the Pakistan Armed Forces: the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy, and Pakistan Air Force, hence the name "Inter-Services"; the agency also recruits civilians. Since 1971, it has been formally headed by a serving three-star general of the Pakistan Army, who is appointed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan in consultation with the Chief of Army Staff, who recommends three officers for the position. As of 30 September 2024, the ISI is headed by Lt. Gen. Asim Malik. The Director-General reports directly to both the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff.

The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) is a statutory position in the Pakistan Army held by its professional head, which is usually a four-star general, appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's nomination. The COAS serves ex officio as the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), the professional head of the Pakistan Armed Forces. As the highest-ranking officer, it is the most powerful position in the land army; and due to the influence of the military, the position is seen as the most powerful office in the country.

This is the senior-most appointment in the army and the officeholder serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, usually consulting the chiefs of the aerial and naval branches to act as a military adviser to the Prime Minister and the federal government in the line of defending the land borders of the country. The Chief of the Army Staff exercises responsibility of command and control of the operational, combatant, logistics, and training commands within the army.