Islamabad — Pakistan has announced the creation of a dedicated Army Rocket Force Command, a move aimed at enhancing the country’s conventional missile warfare capabilities in the wake of its recent military conflict with India.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made the announcement late Wednesday during a high-profile ceremony at Islamabad’s Jinnah Sports Stadium marking Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day and the state’s commemoration of Marka-i-Haq, a term used for the four-day May war with India following the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
Officials say the new command will oversee the deployment and operational readiness of missile systems designed for conventional warfare. Military sources, cited by local media, indicated that the force will be equipped with advanced targeting systems capable of engaging threats from multiple directions, reinforcing Pakistan’s deterrence posture along its eastern border.
The initiative follows a 20% increase in Pakistan’s defence budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, part of a broader post-conflict military modernisation drive. The May confrontation, described as one of the most intense since the two countries’ 1999 Kargil war, involved cross-border missile strikes, aerial combat, and drone operations before a US-brokered ceasefire was reached on May 10.
The Independence Day ceremony was attended by senior political and military leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, service chiefs, and foreign dignitaries. Contingents from Turkiye and Azerbaijan joined Pakistan’s armed forces in the parade, with the Pakistan Air Force staging a fly-past over the capital.
Pakistan’s leadership has framed the creation of the Rocket Force as part of a strategic shift towards bolstering conventional military power alongside its established nuclear deterrent. Analysts note that the move is also a signal to India that Islamabad intends to sustain and expand its precision-strike capabilities, which were employed during the May hostilities.
India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed rivals since their partition from British rule in 1947, have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir. The latest escalation was sparked when India linked the Pahalgam attack to Pakistan, a claim Islamabad rejected.
The new Rocket Force Command is expected to operate independently within Pakistan’s army structure, mirroring similar units in other major militaries. Defence observers suggest it could play a central role in any future conventional conflict between the two neighbours.
