After the
independence of
Pakistan in 1947, the division under the command of Major General
Frederick Loftus-Tottenham, was one of two allocated to the new Pakistan army. The 7th Infantry Division is currently being commanded by Major General Shakir, AC. The Division first saw action during the
Indo-Pakistan War of 1948, where it fought and captured some territory in the
Poonch sector. In the intervening years, the formation became part of the Pakistan Army's strategic
reserve. At the outbreak of the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the
Peshawar Division was commanded by a native Peshawarite; Major General
Yahya Khan. In it, the Golden Arrow's were the lead division of the
Operation Grand Slam, where they and two divisions which had been placed under the division's command managed to achieve the most dramatic breakthrough of the war when they defeated the Indian formations in front of them, capturing the
district of
Chamb, and pushed up to a position 6 km beyond
Jammu City, by the end of hostilities. Its commander, General Yahya Khan would be awarded the
Hilal-e-Jurat for this achievement. 6 years later, during the
Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 the Peshawar Division would once again be called into action. Once again Pakistan's strategic reserve, along with 1st Armoured Division, would not see action as a unit but many of its sub-units would enter combat in various sectors. The formation would go overseas for the third time in its history (and for the second time as a Pakistani division) when it deployed with two brigades to Saudi Arabia for the 1991 Gulf War. It would be the better part of a decade, before the formation would get the call to arms again, but when it came it was at the highest battlefield of the world, and several units would serve in that area. In 1999 during the
Kargil War, the division was sent as a reinforcement to the Gultari area. After
9/11, and the
United States led invasion of
Afghanistan, the Golden Arrows would be called into a period of almost continuous action in difficult and mountainous terrain, carrying out operations in
Waziristan and the North West Frontier Province (now called: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa), against
Al-Qaeda and
Taliban escaping from Afghanistan. Most of the Al-Qaeda operatives have been captured by elements of this formation. Under its corps headquarters, XI Corps, the Division took part in the
2009 South Waziristan offensive. == List of General Officers Commanding (incomplete) ==