The Dir Levies is a

paramilitary force A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

in the

Dir District Dir is a region in northwestern Pakistan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Before the independence of Pakistan, Dir was a Dir (princely state), princely state, and it remained so until 1969 when it was abolished by a ...

of the Pakistani province of

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

. It operates as the primary law enforcement agency tasked with maintaining law and order within the division. The force has its origins back in the days of the British Raj, and has continued to function for over a century.

History

In 1895 after the British conquered

Swat A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

, Dir,

Chitral Chitral () is a city situated on the Kunar River, Chitral River in northern area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Lower Chitral District, and was previously the capital of Chitral District, and before ...

, Bajawar, and Malakand, a collective force was established as the Swat Levies, which included therein the Dir Levies, Chitral Border Police and the previously raised

Malakand Levies The Malakand Levies is a paramilitary force in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Malakand Division. It operates as the primary law enforcement agency tasked with maintaining law and order within the division. The force has its origins ...

. Maj. A.H. Dean who was the first Political Agent of Malakand was assigned the task to command the Swat Levies. The force would have to take care of Swat, Dir, Chitral and Malakand areas. In the first batch, a total of 192 personnel were recruited as sepoys. The first Jamadar of the Swat Levies was Mohammad Akram Khan son of Said Anwar Khan of Timergara, Dir District. By March 1896, the Levies had a strength of 390 men including 40 non-commissioned officers. The number hovered around 300 men into the early 20th century. Political agents and district coordination officers act as commandants of Levies forces within their respective jurisdictions.

Organization

The Dir Levies comes under the administrative control of SAFRON Division, Government 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# ...

. The Commandant of Dir Levies is the commanding officer of the force while the Subedar Major is the second high-ranking officer after the commandant.

References

{{Khyber Pakhtunkhwa topics Pakistan Levies Military in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Military units and formations of British India Dir District

History

Organization

See also

References