After the 9/11 attacks on the United States , the U.S. military responded with a large invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 . Initially , all Pakistan Army troops were mobilized in different military formations and deployment continued in all over the country during this period , under the command of Chairman joint chiefs General Pervez Musharraf , also self-appointing President at that time . After laying discussion principle Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee , the XI Corps ( roughly ~ 60,000 men ) was deployed under the command of Lieutenant-General Alijan Aurakzai in North-western . Other formations were rested in eastern , southern , and the northern borders of the country . By 2004 , additional battalions were stationed by General Musharraf to help curb infiltration into Pakistan through its porous border . On 7 October 2004 , Musharraf approved the appointment of his close aide , General Ehsan-ul-Haq , who superseded seven colleagues who was brutally criticized by the media . The appointment was highly controversial and political since Admiral Shahid Karimullah , Chief of Naval Staff , was the senior-most four-star officer in the armed forces . After becoming the chairman joint chiefs , General Ehsan-ul-Haq oversaw the ground troops deployment of army only , while the air force was kept out of the region . The strategy proved to be wrong as the violence spread out all over the country , and the army was increasingly in great pressure from the militants in 2004-07 . In 2007 , chairman joint chiefs General Ehsan-ul-Haq admitted the only ground troops deployment was wrong as the " Waziristan truce went wrong " . President Musharraf ordering the highly controversial and criticized military action , '' Silence '' , to take over the Red Mosque complex plummeted Musharraf and General Ehsan 's support
9/11 attacks
September 11 attacks
War in North-West Pakistan order of battle