Pakistan's Army

Pakistan Armed Forces. It came into existence after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Pakistani Air Force and Pakistani Navy have inducted their first female pilots and sailors in 2012 see details at Women in the Pakistan Armed Forces.Since its establishment in 1947, the Army has been involved in four wars with neighbouring with India.The Pakistan Army was created on the 30th of June of the year 1947 from the division of the British Indian Army.This led to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. Regular Army units joined the invasion later on but were stopped after the refusal of the Chief of Army Staff, British officer General Sir Frank Messervy, to obey Pakistani leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah's orders to move the Army into Kashmir.Between 1947 and 1971, Pakistan has fought three direct conventional wars against India with the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 witnessing the seccession of East-Pakistan as independent Bangladesh.

Troop strength

As of 2010 estimations by national and international bodies, approximately 617,000 people were on active duty in the military, with an additional 420,000 serving in paramilitary forces and 513,000 in reserve. It is an all volunteer military, but conscription can be enacted at the request of the President with the approval of the parliament of Pakistan. The military is the seventh largest in the world and has a large number of troops deployed around the globe in military assistance and peacekeeping operations.
China's relationship with Pakistan holds great importance for both countries in terms of common interest and geopolitical strategy. The alliance was initially formed to counter the regional influence and military threat posed by India and the Soviet Union. In recent years the friendship has deepened further; China and Pakistan have signed several mutual defense treaties.
China has been a steady source of military equipment and has cooperated with Pakistan in setting up weapons production and modernization facilities.