Frontier Corps
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The Frontier Corps ( ur, ,
reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
: FC), are a group of paramilitary forces of
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, operating in the provinces of
Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's borders with
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. There are four Frontier Corps: FC KPK (North) and FC KPK (South) stationed in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
province (formed from the previously named North-West Frontier Province and the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...
), and FC Balochistan (North) and FC Balochistan (South) stationed in
Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
province. Each Corps is headed by a
seconded In deliberative bodies a second to a proposed motion is an indication that there is at least one person besides the mover that is interested in seeing the motion come before the meeting. It does not necessarily indicate that the seconder favors th ...
inspector general An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
, who is a
Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...
officer of at least major-general rank, although the force itself is officially under the jurisdiction of the
Interior Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
. With a total manpower of approximately 70,000, and a budget of , the task of the Frontier Corps is to help local law enforcement, and to carry out border patrol, counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling operations. Each Corps consists of several regiments, themselves composed of one or more
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
-sized wings. Some of the regiments were raised during the colonial era. These include the
Chitral Scouts , image = Chitral scout.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = A band of the Chitral Scouts. , start_date = 1903 , disbanded = , country = , allegiance = , branch = Civil Armed Forces , type = Paramilitary , role = , size = ...
, the
Khyber Rifles The Khyber Rifles are a paramilitary regiment, forming part of the Pakistani Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North). The Rifles are tasked with defending the border with Afghanistan and assisting with law enforcement in the districts adjace ...
, the
Kurram Militia The Kurram Militia is a paramilitary regiment of the Frontier Corps of Pakistan. It was originally raised by the British in 1892 to operate in the North-West Frontier Province, and carried in that role following Pakistan's independence in 1947. Fo ...
, the Tochi Scouts, the South Waziristan Scouts, and the
Zhob Militia The Zhob Militia is a paramilitary regiment of the Frontier Corps, a Civil Armed Force based in Baluchistan and are one of the oldest paramilitary forces in the region. The militia is under the control of the Frontier Corps and is commanded by of ...
. The Khyber Rifles was in fact regularised during the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...
and fought with distinction in Kashmir.


History

The Frontier Corps was created in 1907 by
Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...
, the
viceroy of British India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...
, in order to organize seven militia and scout units in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan: the
Khyber Rifles The Khyber Rifles are a paramilitary regiment, forming part of the Pakistani Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North). The Rifles are tasked with defending the border with Afghanistan and assisting with law enforcement in the districts adjace ...
, the
Zhob Militia The Zhob Militia is a paramilitary regiment of the Frontier Corps, a Civil Armed Force based in Baluchistan and are one of the oldest paramilitary forces in the region. The militia is under the control of the Frontier Corps and is commanded by of ...
, the Kurram Militia, the Tochi Scouts, the
Chagai Militia The Chagai Militia ( ur, ) is a paramilitary unit of Pakistan's Frontier Corps, originating in the area of Chagai District in Baluchistan (Pakistan). The regiment was initially known at the Chagai Levies and was raised by British Indian Army and P ...
, the South Waziristan Scouts and the
Chitral Scouts , image = Chitral scout.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = A band of the Chitral Scouts. , start_date = 1903 , disbanded = , country = , allegiance = , branch = Civil Armed Forces , type = Paramilitary , role = , size = ...
. The Frontier Corps was led by an "inspecting officer" who was a British officer of the rank of
lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
. In 1943 the inspecting officer was upgraded to an
inspector general An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
(an officer with the rank of
brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
), and the corps was expanded with the addition of new units—the Second Mahsud Scouts (raised in 1944) and the Pishin Scouts (in 1946). After Pakistan and India split in 1947, Pakistan expanded the corps further by creating a number of new units, including the Thal Scouts, the Northern Scouts, the
Bajaur Scouts The Bajaur Scouts is a paramilitary regiment of the Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North) of Pakistan, recruited locally in Bajaur District and officered by regular Pakistan Army officers. The Scouts were previously the Bajaur Levies, and ...
, the Karakoram Scouts, the Kalat Scouts, the Dir Scouts and the Kohistan Scouts. British officers continued to serve in the Frontier Corps up to the early 1950s. The corps was split into two major subdivisions with FC Balochistan incorporating the Zhob Militia, the Sibi Scouts, the Kalat Scouts, the Makran Militia, the Kharan Rifles, the Pishin Scouts, the Chaghai Militia and the First Mahsud Scouts. In 1975 three units, the
Gilgit Scouts The Gilgit Scouts constituted a paramilitary force of the Gilgit Agency in northern Jammu and Kashmir. They were raised by the government of British India in 1913, on behalf of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, to police the northern front ...
, the Karakoram Scouts and the Northern Scouts, were merged to form a new paramilitary force called the
Northern Light Infantry The Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI) is a light infantry regiment in the Pakistan Army, based and currently headquartered in Gilgit, Pakistan. Along with other forces of the Pakistani military, the NLI has the primary responsibility of con ...
, which is now a full infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. In the mid-1970s, the Pakistani government used FC Balochistan to counter the terrorists in Balochistan, and the force is unpopular among some of the local population who associate them with human rights violations and heavy-handed operations. To improve the image of the corps, it has been involved in the construction of schools and hospitals, although as of late 2004, corps installations in the province were being routinely attacked by terrorists. In the late 1990s, the Frontier Corps played an important role in eliminating
opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum'', commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable ornamen ...
cultivation from
Dir District Dir is a region in northwestern Pakistan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Before Pakistan was created, Dir was a princely state, and it remained so until 1969 when it was abolished by a presidential declaration, and ...
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 2007, after the collapse of truce agreements between the Pakistani government and local militants, the Frontier Corps, teamed with regular Pakistani military units, conducted incursions into tribal areas controlled by the militants. The effort produced a series of bloody and clumsy confrontations.Miller, Greg
"U.S. military aid to Pakistan misses its Al Qaeda target"
''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', November 5, 2007, accessed November 7, 2007.
On August 30, about 250 Pakistani troops, mostly from the Frontier Corps, surrendered to militants without a fight. In early November, most were released in exchange for 25 militants held by the Pakistan Army. There is a widespread consensus among United States government military and intelligence experts that the Frontier Corps are the best potential military units against the Islamist militants because its troops are locally recruited, know local languages and understand local cultures. The United States provided more than US$7 billion in military aid to Pakistan from 2002 to 2007, most of which was used to equip the Frontier Corps because it is in the front line of the fight against the Islamist insurgents. From late 2007, the Pakistani government intended to expand the corps to 100,000 and use it more in fighting Islamist militants, particularly Al-Qaeda, after extensive consultations with the U.S. government, with a multi-year plan to bolster the effort, including the establishment of a counterinsurgency training centre. The US Obama policy for Pakistan was seen as a clear victory for the Pakistan Army lobby in the US. The $1.5 billion a year unrestricted aid recently announced will go a long way in seeing that the Frontier Corps stay at the height of their professional abilities due to new equipment and training. The Corps has also fired occasionally on the U.S.-assisted
Afghan Army The Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be t ...
.Stockman, Farah
"Pakistan aid plan facing resistance / $300m requested for paramilitaries"
''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', July 22, 2007, accessed November 7, 2007.


Role

* Border security duties. * Assist Army/FCNA in the defense of the country as and when required. * Protect important communication centers and routes. * Undertake counter militancy/criminal/terrorism operations on orders. * Assist law enforcement agencies in maintenance of law and order. * Safeguard important sites and assets During times of difficulties, the government occasionally gives the FC the power to arrest and detain suspects such as in late 2012 and early 2013 when the
Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Paki ...
granted the FC policing powers. These temporary powers can also be extended on the orders or consent of the provincial government or federal government or both.


Organisation

The senior command posts are filled by officers seconded from the Pakistan Army for two to three years. The four Corps are divided into forty two regiments, most of which are composed of a number of
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
-sized "wings" together with a number of training and support units. See the daughter articles for listings of regiments. * eleven infantry and one armoured regiments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North) * ten infantry regiments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (South) * ten infantry regiments in Balochistan (North) * ten infantry regiments in Balochistan (South)


Personnel

There were a total 70,000 active personnel as of 2017 and additional wings have been raised to meet the security challenges. Frontier Corps units are locally recruited and are officered by Pakistani Army officers. In January 2022 during press briefing Pakistan military spokesperson General
Babar Iftikhar Lieutenant General Babar Iftikhar () is a three-star rank general in the Pakistani Army. He was the former 21st director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) from 16 January 2020 to 6 December 2022. He was commissioned in the ...
says, As a part of Pakistan's Western border management, 67 new wings has been established for the FC Balochistan and FC Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to strengthen border security and formation of the six more wings is in process.


Inspectors general

After independence in 1947, the Inspectors-General were as follows: # Brig. Ahmad Jan, MBE (1950–51) # Brig. K A Rahim Khan (1951–53) # Brig.
Bakhtiar Rana Lieutenant-General Bakhtiar Rana ( ur, ; b. 3 November 1910–1999) was a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who was notable for commanding the 1 Corps, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Biography Rana was born in Hoshiarpur, Punja ...
, MC (1953–55) # Brig. Sadiq Ullah Khan, M.C (1955–58) # Brig. Rakhman Gul, SQA, S, K, MC (1958–63) # Brig. Sadiq Ullah Khan, MC (1963–64) # Brig. Bahadur Sher, MC (1964–66) # Brig. Mahboob Khan, TQA (1966–69) # Brig. Mahmud Jan, SQA (1969–71) # Maj. Gen. Shireen Dil Khan Niazi (1971–72) # Brig. Iftikhar e Bashir (1972) # Maj. Gen.
Naseerullah Babar Major-General Naseerullah Khan Babar (Urdu: نصیر اللہ خان بابر; born 1928 – 10 January 2011) was a Pakistani army officer, diplomat, and politician who served as the 28th Interior Minister of Pakistan from 1993 to 1996. A membe ...
, SJ & Bar (1972–74) For subsequent inspectors general, see the daughter articles.


See also

*
Law enforcement in Pakistan Law enforcement in Pakistan ( ur, ) is one of the three main components of the criminal justice system of Pakistan, alongside the judiciary and the prisons. The country has a mix of federal, provincial and territorial police forces with both gen ...
*
Civil Armed Forces The Civil Armed Forces (CAF) are a group of nine paramilitary, uniformed organisations, separate and distinct from the regular "military" Pakistan Armed Forces. They are responsible for maintaining internal security, helping law enforcement ag ...
*
National Guard of Pakistan The National Guard of Pakistan ( ur, ) is a reserve military force and the component of the Pakistan Army that is designed to act as a "second line of defense" in Pakistan. together with the Pakistan Army Reserve, the Frontier Corps and the ...
*
Pakistan Levies The Pakistan Levies (Urdu: ), or Federal Levies, are provincial paramilitary forces (gendarmeries) in Pakistan, whose primary missions are law enforcement, assisting the civilian police (where co-located) in maintaining law and order, and condu ...
*
Military history of the North-West Frontier The North-West Frontier (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) was a region of the British Indian Empire. It remains the western frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separ ...
*
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as the War in North-West Pakistan or Pakistan's war on terror, is an ongoing armed conflict involving Pakistan, and Islamist militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jundall ...
*
Insurgency in Balochistan The Insurgency in Balochistan is an insurgency or revolt by Baloch nationalists against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers the Balochistan Province in southwestern Pakistan, Sistan and Baluchestan Prov ...


References


External links

*
Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Frontier Corps Balochistan
{{Authority control * Civil Armed Forces Military in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Military in Balochistan, Pakistan Military in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas