Please ask any question that you have in comments too so that we can add an answer to it too.

Is Pakistan SSG part of regular Army?

No. Individuals from any armed force of Pakistan can apply for Special Service Group. Both soldiers and officers of Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Airforce can apply for Special Service Group and become part of it.

Is SSG a permanent posting?

No. Those who get selected in Pakistan SSG can remain in it until they perform well or until they request themselves to be returned to unit (which is not immediate though).

Young soldiers and officers join SSG and then they usually leave for further career after some years. However those who do see career opportunity and promotions in SSG do stay and get promoted to the higher ranks. If someone is not making up good merit to be promoted inside SSG, they can choose to return to their own unit (called RTU).

Sometimes officers can go back to their original corps or units for career progression and then come back to SSG.

Are all SSG units equally trained?

Initial training of all soldiers is same and all officers is same (officers and soldiers training are different though). However once they become part of SSG, then the regular, frogman and anti terrorist unit trainings become different.

How many units / battalions of SSG are there?

We would prefer not to share the exact number, but they are less than a dozen.

Out of these only one unit is anti terrorist unit. Commandoes of other SSG units are not trained in anti terrorist training (some are, but that’s when they try to apply for anti terrorist unit, and do not make it there).

Why is SSG under Pakistan Army if it’s a special force?

It’s like Navy Seals of US Navy are under Navy, but they have their own operations and service. Similarly Pakistan SSG is not part of regular Army, however they are under the official command of Pakistan Army.

Please let us know if you have any questions so that we can add them to this list.

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How to become a Major in Pakistan Army

You can become a major directly or by long course in Pakistan Army or via short service regular commission (SSRC) or direct short service commission (DSSC).

Long course to Major rank

For long course, an individual needs to apply for long course of Pakistan Army. Then he will get basic military training (BMT) for 2 years as an officer cadet and then pass out as a 2nd lieutenant.

After that he will be promoted to the rank of lieutenant and then captain. A captain will get promoted to the rank of major after the required years of service, after passing captain to major promotion exam.

SSRC / DSSC to Pakistan Army Major rank

People can join army via SSRC or DSSC too. Some services like medical corps doctors, can join army directly as a captain via SSRC. Then they can be promoted to the rank of major after required years of service and also passing the captain to major promotion exam.

Join Pakistan Army directly as a Major

It is also possible to join Pak Army directly as a major. Currently for example, specialist doctors can join Pakistan Army directly as a major in medical corps.

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How to get commission in Pakistan Army as an officer

An individual can get commission in Pakistan Army as an officer by applying for courses:

• Long course of PMA via issb
• Short service regular commission (SSRC)
• DSSC

Or any other officer induction courses in Pakistan Army.

Can AFNS nurse become brigadier in Pakistan Army

Note that nurses in Pakistan Army Nursing Service (AFNS) can also reach the rank of brigadier, however they are subordinate to the Pakistan Commissioned Officers of Pakistan Army who start their service through officer courses.

Which officers can become a brigadier in Pakistan Army

All officer cadres can be promoted to the rank of brigadier. However the vacancies may vary. For example they are less in psychologists and education corps, while they are many in fighting arms and medical corps.

Promotion depends upon requirements of every arm and corps and also the competition within that arm of service.

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Profile of General Qamar Javed Bajwa

Date of Commission

General Bajwa got commission on 24th October, 1980.

Parental Unit

Parental unit of General Qamar Javed Bajwa is 16th Baloch Regiment.

Foreign Courses

• Canadian Forces Command & Staff College, Toronto, Canada
• Naval Post Graduate University, Monterey, California, USA

Local Courses

• War-course, National Defence University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Appointments

• Instructor at School of Infantry & Tactics, Quetta
• Instructor at Command & Staff College, Quetta
• Instructor at National Defence University, Islamabad
• Brigade Major of Infantry Brigade
• Chief of Staff of Rawalpindi Corps
• Commanded his parental unit, 16 Baloch Regiment
• Commanded Infantry division in Northern Areas (Commander FCNA)
• Commanded Pakistan Contigent at United Nations in Congo
• Inspector General Training & Evaluation at GHQ

Chief Of Army Staff

General Qamar Javed Bajwa has been appointed as Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, twice. First in 2016 and now in 2019, both for 3 years tenure.

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General Bajwa tenure was to end after 3 months when he was to be retired as per normal service. However the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, gave extension to him for 3 more years due to the ongoing security situation in the country.

The extension letter of General Bajwa, signed letter provided by media is as follows:

The letter says:

General Qamar Javed Bajwa is appointed Chief of Army Staff for another term of three years from the date of completion of current tenure. The decision has been taken in view of the regional security environment.

The speculation of his extension was already going on for some time now and this news confirmed it.

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The male nursing assistants are not “staff nurse” like female nursing staff, and come under regular Army Medical Corps badge and banner, instead of AFNS.

In this post, we’ll try to answer any query that people usually have about AFNS, how to join them, what is their service life like, perks and privileges, etc. If you have any more queries you can ask them in the comments section below.

When was Pakistan Army Armed Force Nursing Service started?

AFNS formally began on 10th May, 1951.

What is the duty of AFNS

AFNS serve as nurses in military hospital, just like normal nurses in any hospital.

They are not posted to any units or combat setups.

Do AFNS get a permanent job?

Yes. AFNS is a permanent job cadre of Pakistan Army. They get regular permanent job and pension after retirement at the end of service.

Are AFNS posted on station of choice only?

No. AFNS, like all other army personnel, do get posted to various stations.

Note that they are posted at the station of their choice primarily. However under some circumstances they might get posted to stations which are not their primary choice.

Are AFNS nurses Commissioned Officers?

Yes, AFNS is a commissioned service. The personnel in AFNS are commissioned officers.

Are Nurses Pakistan Commissioned Officers (PCOs)?

No. AFNS officers are not Pakistan Commissioned Officers (bps 17 and above, such as regular officers who passout from PMA).

Are AFNS authorised to use Officer’s perks & facilities?

No. AFNS nurses are not considered Pakistan Commissioned officers and thus they are not allowed to use any facility dedicated to regular military officers. This includes the following things which they can not use or be part of:

1. Officer Mess (AFNS use their own AFNS mess)
2. Officer’s BOQ or MOQ (AFNS get their houses in their own allocated quota of houses, not in the officers list)
3. Officer’s gatherings
4. Officer’s parades
5. Officer’s study periods
6. Officer’s courses

Is pay scale of AFNS same as Officers?

No. AFNS nurses have a lower pay scale than the officers (PCO). Even if a nurse is wearing ranks of Captain, she is not equal to BPS-17 (of regular army captain officer) and thus gets paid less than them.

Is the Uniform of AFNS same as Lady Officers?

No. The (PCO) lady officers wear the military Sarhi type uniform. While AFNS wear a shalwar kameez type uniform.

The uniform of Nurses was white coloured in the past. It was changed to brown military colour shalwar kameez in past years.

Are AFNS trained with Officer Cadets in same Academy?

No. AFNS are not trained with officer cadets. They are not trained in same academy too.

AFNS are trained in their own setup and have different training than that of officer cadets of Pakistan Army.

Can AFNS keep an unlicensed personal weapon like Officers?

No. Only regular commissioned officers (PCO) are allowed to keep 2 unlicensed pistols with them. Nurses are not considered regular commissioned officers and thus can’t have them.

Is Nursing Major Senior to Commissioned Captain Officer?

No. Seniority is based on BPS scale. As nurses do not start in officer scale (bps-17), they are junior to the officers of same rank.

Are Nurses considered Officer in Pakistan Army?

No. Nurses are not considered Pakistan Commissioned officers in Pakistan Army. They are considered Nursing officer, just like a subedar is considered a junior commissioned officer (JCO), or a havaldar is considered a non-commissioned officer (NCO). They are respected in their own profession and service they have, but they are not considered part of the proper officer cadre.

Why Nurses have officer ranks if they are not officers?

General Zia gave them the ranks equivalent to the officers in his tenure due to personal reasons. However they never got the same pay scale, perks, privileges, authorities, duties and respect as of officers.

In fact it created more of a confusion for both nurses and other military people dealing with them.

Are male nurses also given same ranks?

No, the male counterparts of AFNS get the rank of sepoy.

Eligibility Criteria for AFNS

Eligibility criteria for Pakistan Army Armed Forces Nursing Service is as follows.

AFNS General Nursing Eligibility Criteria

Note that these criteria are for General Nursing. Candidates who are trained nurses already have different criteria.

Gender: Female

Age: 17-25

Qualification:

• Matric (science): 60% marks (minimum)
• FSc (pre-medical): 50% marks (minimum)

Candidates having 50% marks in 1st year can apply with hope certificate, duly signed by the principal.

Marital Status:

• Unmarried
• Widowed
• Separated
• Divorced

Trained nurses can be both married or unmarried.

Nationality:

• Citizen of Pakistan
• Kashmir domicile holder
• Gilgit-baltistan domicile holder

People with dual nationality can apply. But they will have to surrender their nationality other than Pakistani upon successful selection.

Physical standards required

Height: 5 feet [5′ (152cm)]

Weight: As per BMI (body mass index)

Ineligibility conditions for joining AFNS

These conditions make the person in-eligible to apply for Pakistan Army AFNS.

1. A person who has been rejected twice by the GHQ selection board in the past.
2. A person who has been declared medically unfit by the medical appeal board in the past.
3. Any person who’ve been withdrawn, resigned or discharged from any Armed Forces in the past (Army, Navy, Air force) from their training academies or institutions on the basis of any issue related to character, discipline, medical inefficiency, weak profile or otherwise declared unsuitable.
4. Any person who’ve been removed or dismissed from any other government service is also ineligible to apply.
5. Any person who’ve been convicted by the court of law for any moral turpitude related offence.

Note: the aim of this page is to provide information about the AFNS job. If you find any error or mistake in the content, please let us know with authentic reference & we will modify / correct it. Thank you

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How to become a Captain in Pakistan Army?

There are various ways to become an officer with Captain in Pak Army. Such as:

• Join Pakistan Army via long course, pass out as 2nd lieutenant and then lieutenant and then captain in fighting arm
• Join Pakistan Army directly as a captain if you join as a doctor after doing mbbs from civil, or join as software engineer after doing BSCE (or equivalant) from civil setups, etc. This applies on many arms and departments, check for the openings for the year you’re applying in

Which BPS scale is Captain Rank in Pak Army?

Captain rank is equivalent to BPS-17 scale.

2nd lieutenant & lieutenant are also bps-17 scale ranks. However they are on the lower pay scale side while captain is on higher side (slight difference though, not much).

Pay of a captain in Pakistan Army

Pay of a captain is based on bps-17 scale pay structure. It is nearly 70,000 pkr in the start.

Also it may vary based on the corps / arm (or department) one is serving in. For example SSG captains receive almost 9,000 pkr extra. Similarly doctors receive nearly 4,000 pkr extra every month as NPA (non-practicing allowance).

What are the duties of a Captain in Pak Army?

Duties of a captain vary based on the corps / arm / department they are in too.

In fighting arms, they are platoon commanders under the major who is the company commander.

Captains usually also do the duties of adjudant (but mostly done by lieutenants), quarter master (again mostly done by lieutenants if they are available), project officer, etc. too.

In arms like Army medical crops, Engineers, etc. the captain mainly does the duties of their profession.

How many years an officer remains a Captain

This is variable based on the arm and department too.

E.g., mostly in fighting arms the duration of Captain rank is 5 years. For doctors of Army Medical Corps, the duration is 6 years, etc.

What is meant by Honorary Captain

This term usually applies to those people who joined army as soldier, however by the end of service they kept being promoted to the highest regular rank a soldier can achieve (subedar major) and then get promoted to an honorary rank of captain for few months at the end of their service. This is meant to give them honor for being an amazing soldier throughout, however they are practically not deployed or utilized as regular captains of Pakistan Army (hence the term honorary captains).

Honorary rank of Captain in SSG officers

SSG officers, upon passing out, get the rank of captain even if they are lieutenants at that time. This is just a honorary rank till they achieve the rank of captain themselves. However in army documents they are still lieutenants and all their pay and courses etc some based on their original rank. They just wear the rank of captain as an honor for passing out the commando course.

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These units are not equivalent to the AirForce units / squadrons and are meant for a different / minor role where directly under the Army command.

For example, for transport of individuals or equipment to and from the operational areas, mushaak airplanes or various helicopters are used by army. These are being operated by Pakistan Army officers who have been trained in the Pakistan Army Aviation Academy.

Difference between Army Aviation and Airforce

Although both deal with flying objects, both have different roles and scopes of duty. Airforce is a full fledged department of military which is responsible for all air related affairs of the country’s security and warfare. Army aviation however, deals with only minor part where rapid movement is needed by Pakistan Army troops including SSG or regular troops too.

Pakistan Army Aviation Pilots Uniform

Pakistan Army aviation office uniform is similar to Pakistan Army regular uniform. However their flying uniform is similar to other aviation uniform as in the image below.

Does Army Aviation has fighting capability

Yes, the rotary machines include cobra helicopters, which have combat ability & are actively used in internal security operations against terrorists too.

Army aviation is under Army or Airforce?

Army aviation comes under the army command. However before any air flight, they need clearance / permission from Airforce for the route as they might also be using it for their own movement.

What are the tasks of Pakistan Army Aviation

Primary tasks of the aviation units are to provide assistance to the army troops. Including things such as (but not limited to):

1. Movement of troops by helicopter or 2 seater mushaak airplane
2. Movement of VIP / Generals in air to take aerial view of the area
3. Transport of rashan etc. to areas in case of acute emergency
4. Dropping SSG troops
5. Evacuation of patients who need urgent transfer, especially in ops area
6. Cobra helicopters are also used in combat in internal security operations of zarb-e-azb
7. Using choppers in case of natural disaster to evacuate people, e.g. in floods

What is the scope for Army Aviation pilots

The pilots of army aviation don’t get too far in military service due to limited seats of promotion from lieutenant colonel and beyond. However their scope in civil is good as they get pilot training and many flying hours experience which they can use to easily get a job in some private flying club or other small airplane companies or as a private helicopter pilot.

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Similarities between long course & graduate course

1. Both long course & graduate course are regular commission courses of Pakistan army
2. Both get training in Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul
3. Both courses passout as 2nd lieutenant

Difference between long course & graduate course

The major difference between longcourse & graduate course are:

1. Long course is of 2 years, while graduate course is of 1 year
2. You can join long course after 12 years of education (FA, FSc, DAE, etc), while for graduate course you need to have a graduation degree
3. Age limit for long course is 22 years while for graduate course the age limit is 23 years

After passingout, officers of both courses are treated as same and are part of same pool.

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Which country do Pak Army personnel go on UN mission

UN peacekeeping mission are currently active in 14 countries:

1. MINUJUSTH, Haiti
2. MINURSO, Western Sahara
3. MINUSCA, Central African Republic
4. MINUSMA, Mali
5. MONUSCO, D.R. of the Congo
6. UNAMID, Darfur
7. UNDOF, Golan
8. UNFICYP, Cyprus
9. UNIFIL, Lebanon
10. UNISFA, Abyei
11. UNMIK, Kosovo
12. UNMISS, South Sudan
13. UNMOGIP, India and Pakistan
14. UNTSO, Middle East

Screenshot of the UN peace keeping mission website, listing them:

However, Pakistan is mainly sent in Africa for peacekeeping operations.

Pakistan Army UN mission Pay Package

Pay for Pakistan Army personnel at UN peacekeeping mission has been increased couple of years ago. For soldiers it’s (per month) 1000$+ (1,20,000 pkr) and for officers its 3000$ (3,60,000) and above as per rank.

Although the pay is normal for western armies, it’s quite high for Pakistan armies regular pay, and that’s why almost every individual looks forward to being selected for UN mission. Probably this is the reason for Pakistan army having the largest percentage of troops in UN peacekeeping missions.

The basic pay portion of regular pay is also given to the individual while he is on UN mission.

Advance salary of almost 750$ is given to the individual before leaving for the peacekeeping mission.

Pay arrives in Askari Bank, Sadar Rwp branch in USD account only. This foreign currency account is opened for every individual prior to move.

Leave policy at UN peacekeeping mission

United Nations peacekeeping mission has a leave policy of 2 months per year. Which an individual can avail based on their commanding officers discretion, at once or in fragments.

However, only 1 return ticket is given free for the individual. If he plans to divide his 2 months leave into fragments, he will have to pay for the flight charges himself.

Other than the main 2 months leave, individual can have smaller leaves less than 15 days, on commanding officers discretion, to visit other countries, do Umra, emergencies, etc.

Are UN peacekeeping missions effective?

It’s a controversial topic. If we ask Pakistan army people, if they run successful UN missions in Africa, they will definitely approve their efficacy, even when in many missions they work in coordination and partnership with other countries armies (including Indian Army).

However, if we ask them that is UN mission successful in Kashmir? Almost everyone in Pakistan will say NO, just like all the countries say NO where Pakistan, India and other countries send their troops on UN peacekeeping missions.

Why do Pakistan work in collaboration with Indian Army at UN mission?

UN peacekeeping missions usually mean that various countries armies have to work in collaboration and coordination with many other countries armies. This means that at many missions, Pakistan Army and Indian Army works together at many missions and locations to achieve a common goal.

This is not a surprise, because when we see the non-military, civil setup, we see that Pakistanis and Indians do work quite well and together abroad, in UK, Canada, USA, etc.

Even many retired army officers (including generals) of both sides are running successful business together as a partner.

One recent example is a combine book by intelligence chiefs of both countries, Pakistan and India.

So in conclusion, both armies are quite flexible, as their civil citizens, and can work in collaboration where required. Which is not a bad thing, and in fact is a demonstration of their professionalism.

Rank promotions at UN mission

An individual cannot claim a rank promotion while attached with UN peacekeeping mission. This means if your rank promotion from captain to major is due, you won’t be having the change of rank until you’re back to Pakistan from the UN mission. This will not affect the seniority for the officers in most cases, however needs to be clarified for individual cases.

If you have any query or information about UN missions please let us know!

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