The Dir Levies is a

paramilitary force A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

in the

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 ...

of the Pakistani province of

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, ...

. 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 In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

, Dir,

Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...

, Bajawar, and Malakand, a collective force was established as the

Swat Levies In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

, which included therein the Dir Levies, Chitral Border Police and the previously raised Malakand Levies. 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 Jemadar or jamadar is a title used for various military and other officials in the Indian subcontinent. Etymology The word stems from Urdu (), which derives through Persian ''jam'dar'' from Arabic ''jamā‘a(t)'' 'muster' + Persian ''-dār'' ...

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 ( 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 ...

. The Commandant of Dir Levies is the commanding officer of the force while the

Subedar Major Subedar Major is the senior-most rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian and Pakistani Armies, formerly known as the Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History During the British Raj, Subedar-Major was the hi ...

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