The Khasadar (Arabic أَمين for Keeper/Guardian) were

paramilitary 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 ...

forces operating throughout the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from 1947 until being merged with the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 through the ...

(FATA), now a part 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 ...

province in Pakistan. The Khasadar were a locally recruited and maintained tribal security forces, paid for through a

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

provided directly to their tribes by the Pakistani government. Around 40,000 Khasadar served seven former tribal agencies and six frontier regions. Members of the force were recruited as volunteers or through family connections. Khasadar officers were called

subedar Subedar ( ) is a military rank in the militaries of South Asia roughly equivalent to that of a warrant officer. Historically classed in the British Indian Army as a Viceroy's commissioned officer, the rank was retained in the Indian Army an ...

s. Khasadars receive 17,400 Rs.

Origin of the Khasadars

Khasadars were first raised in

Waziristan Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...

and other North West Frontier districts of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

prior to World War I. Their prime functions during this period included the provision of picquets and escorts to protect camel convoys and other travelers when regular soldiers of the Indian Army were not available. They wore the normal clothing of the tribal groups from which they were recruited only distinguished by arm bands bearing the letter K.

Post FATA-KP merger

Pakistan's

Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Lakson Group'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the '' Intern ...

claims that as of 25 June 2018 there were only 17,965 Khasadars in the tribal districts and sub-divisions, and that the current plan is to reduce the force to 15,000, through the immediate retirement of those eligible. It also stated that 2,500 Khasadars could be offered a severance package while about 9,000 will be retrained and merged into the Levies Force. The remaining 3,500 long-serving Khasadars may be allowed to complete their service until retirement. April 8, 2019, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Chief Minister,

Mahmood Khan Mahmood Khan (Urdu, Pashto: ; born 30 October 1970) is a Pakistani politician who was the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from August 2018 till January 2023 and a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He had been a member of the Pro ...

, stated that the 28,000 personnel of the Levies and the Khasadar were merged into the

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police (), formerly known as the Frontier Police, is the provincial law enforcement agency of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. History British colonial era In 1849, the land corresponding to modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhw ...

. Adviser to Chief Minister on Tribal Districts, Ajmal Khan Wazir, stated that Khasadars will receive the same designations, entitlements and postings as members of the regular police force. The Official Notice implied a period of six months for the assimilation process.

References

Former paramilitary forces of Pakistan Law enforcement agencies of Pakistan Federally Administered Tribal Areas 1892 establishments in British India 2019 disestablishments in Pakistan {{Pakistan-mil-stub

Origin of the Khasadars

Post FATA-KP merger

See also

References