Force Command Northern Areas is a division size formation of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

. It commands the troops deployed in the Northern Areas of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is a component of X Corps of the Pakistan Army. In contrast to the general belief that it is a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

sized formation, it is a division sized force commanded by a major general. Its coat of arms is a snow leopard on a black background.

Origins of FCNA

Following its defeat in the Battle of Turtuk in the war of 1971 and the loss of territory,the army felt the need to hold the area more strongly included permanent presence of the army instead of leaving it to the care of Karakorum and Northern Scouts. Consequently, Force Command Northern Area was raised in 1972 as a brigade sized formation responsible for defense of Line of Control in what was then called Northern Areas. The formation was upgraded to a division sized formation in 1975 commanded by a Major General.

Present Day Order of Battle

References

{{Pakistan Army template FCNA Military in Gilgit-Baltistan Military units and formations established in the 1940s