Military history of Pakistan 1958–1969

1958–1969

Pakistani soldiers during the Battle of Chawinda.

Pakistan Army took over from poiliticians for the first time when General Ayub Khan came to power through a bloodless coup in 1958. He formed Convention Muslim League which includes Pakistan's first elected Prime Minister Z.A. Bhutto. Tensions with India continued in the 1960s and a brief border skirmish was fought near the Rann of Kutch area during April 1965. The Pakistan Army initiated Operation Gibraltar, an attempt to remove Indian forces from the disputed territory of Indian-occupied Kashmir. The Indian Army counter-attacked by trying to invade undisputed Pakistani territory and the PA's goals changed from gaining control of Indian-occupied Kashmir to defending Pakistani territory from invading Indian forces. Eventually a ceasefire agreement was reached. The war ended in the Tashkent Declaration and is widely regarded by neutral sources to have been a stalemate. The Pakistan Army considers itself to have achieved a victory because it managed to force a stalemate against a significantly larger force attacking sovereign Pakistani territory at different points, which the PA did not expect and was not prepared or equipped for. Indian sources disagree and call the end result an Indian victory. Highly effective support from the Pakistan Air Force, which was unexpected, is often considered to have neutralised India's advantage in quantity of forces. The accurate artillery fire provided by the PA artillery units is also stated to have played a significant role.
An uprising against General Ayub Khan during 1968 and 1969 resulted in Ayub Khan relinquishing his office as President and Chief of Army Staff in favour of General Yahya Khan, who assumed power in 1969. 16 Division, 18 Division and 23 Division were raised at some point between 1966 and 1969 and 9 Division was re-raised during this period.
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