The Gilgit−Baltistan Scouts, are a civil armed force of Pakistan, tasked with law enforcement in the nominally autonomous territory of

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

and border guard duties. The force was formed in 2003 under the control of the Interior Ministry of Pakistan, but it claims a tradition dating back to the Gilgit Scouts formed during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

era. However, the earlier Scouts unit is now a full infantry regiment of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the 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 British India, which occurred as a result ...

(see Northern Light Infantry Regiment, which mostly operates in the same region as the current Scouts.

Formation

The older Gilgit Scouts was raised by

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in 1913 to defend the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

of Jammu and Kashmir's northern frontier. In August 1047, the Scouts along with rebels in the

Jammu and Kashmir State Forces Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

, switched allegiance to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-la ...

and fought on the northern front of the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, or the First Kashmir War, was a war fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four Indo-Pakistani wars that was fought between ...

, conquering important places such as

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

Kargil Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in J ...

and Drass (the latter two were subsequently recaptured by the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...

). In 1949, the Gilgit Scouts were split into two forces, with the wing under the original name 'Gilgit Scouts' designated for internal security operations, and a second wing, named the 'Northern Scouts', designated for major external operations. In 1964, the Northern Scouts were further bifurcated with the raising of the 'Karakoram Scouts' based in Skardu. All three forces were brought together again in 1975, under the banner of the Northern Light Infantry (then a paramilitary force). Following the 1999 Kargil War with India, where the Northern Light Infantry saw extensive combat, the force was converted into a regular

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripte ...

of the

. The present force of Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts was created in 2003 to fill the internal security role previously carried out by the Northern Light Infantry.Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI)
, Pakistan Army, retrieved 25 March 2018., Gilgit Baltistan Scouts, retrieved 6 April 2018.

Units

The force is composed of a headquarters, a training centre and six manoeuvre wings (each approximately the size of a

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 e ...

). About 40 platoons have been tasked with law enforcement within Gilgit-Baltistan, including seizure of unauthorised weapons. The Scouts went through an expansion phase in 2014, with more than 1,500 new personnel being recruited to help with law enforcement on critical infrastructure projects such as the

Karakoram Highway The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal i ...

. A sixth wing was also added, charged with protecting the building of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam * HQ Wing at Gilgit * 112 Wing serving on the

Line of Control The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian and Pakistanicontrolled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but serv ...

under 323rd Brigade of the Pakistan Army. * 113 Wing at

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

* 114 Wing at Siachen * 115 Wing at

Chilas Chilas ( ur, ) is a city and is the divisional capital of Diamer District located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, on the Indus River. It is part of the Silk Road connected by the Karakoram Highway and N-90 National Highway, which link it to I ...

* 116 Wing at Ghanche * 117 Wing at Ghizer ;Interior Ministry support * 50 Aviation Squadron

Ranks

Standard equipment

* Automatic Rifles – 7.62 mm

Heckler & Koch G3 The Heckler & Koch G3 (''Gewehr'' 3) is a 7.62×51mm NATO, select-fire battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch (H&K) in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency ...

, 7.62 mm Type 56 (POF made) * Sub-Machine Guns – 9 mm

Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...

* Pistols – Glock series, Sigma series * Sniper Rifles – POF PSR-90, Steyr SSG 69 * Hand Grenades – ARGES 84 (POF made) * Anti-tank Weapons –

RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...

(Rocket Launcher), M40A1 (Recoilless Rifle) * Machine Gun – 7.62 mm

Rheinmetall MG3 The MG 3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 ''Einheitsmaschinengewehr'' (Universal machine gun) that fired the 7.92×57mm Mauser ro ...

(POF made) * Heavy Machine Gun – 12.7mm Type 54 (POF made) * Mortars – Various locally produced in use * Bullet Proof Jackets – Various local and foreign types * Helmets – Modular Integrated Communications Helmet and indigenous helmets locally produced * NVG goggles * Utility Vehicles – HIT Mohafiz, Indus Hilux locally produced * Helicopters – Bell 206, Bell 412

Appearance

The formal headwear of the scouts are somewhat similar to the ones worn by the

Pakistan Rangers The Pakistan Rangers ( ur, ) are a paramilitary federal law enforcement organization in Pakistan, operating under the authority of the Interior Secretary of Pakistan. Their primary purpose is to secure and defend sites of significance in the ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Operations and Internal Security

The Force has been performing both operational and Internal Security tasks since its raising. The Special Composite Task Force formed for the protection of

is commanded by the Gilgit−Baltistan Scouts. The Force also took part in recent operations in

Waziristan Waziristan ( Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some ...

Director Generals

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 ...

Inayat Wali (2004–2005) *

Tassaduq Hussain Zahid (2005–2007) *

Azmat Ali (2007–2009) *

Nadeem Ul Ahsan Tirmizi (2009–2012) *

Babar Allauddin (2012–2014) *

Farooq Azam (2014–2016) *

Ijaz Ur Rehman Tanveer (2016 - 2017) *

Abrar Ahmed (2017 - 2019) *

Zia Ur Rehman (2019 - 2022) *

Arslan Israr Mirza (2022 - to date)

References

External links

Gilgit−Baltistan Scouts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts Law enforcement agencies of Pakistan Military in Gilgit-Baltistan Civil Armed Forces 2003 establishments in Pakistan Government agencies established in 2003