The Mujahid Force ( ur, ) is a

paramilitary 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 ...

regiment and a component of the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

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 ...

, normally under the command of the

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 ...

History

The force was established in 1965, and was merged into the National Guard when that organization was formed in 1972. The Force is further regulated by the National Guards Act, 1973, which became law on 12 August 1973. This law sets out, amongst other things, the criteria for applicants and that the Force personnel were subject to military law with respect to criminal charges. It was raised as a reserve force to support and supplement the regular Army during national emergencies and war. The headquarters are in

Bhimber Bhimber ( ur, ) is the capital of Bhimber District, in the Azad Kashmir. The town is on the border between Jammu region and Punjab in Pakistan proper about by road southeast of Mirpur. History Bhimber was the capital of the Chibhal dynasty ...

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

, established in 1992. The Force was originally intended as a border guard unit but has been involved in military actions in recent years. In August 2012, it was reported it was being trained by the

Special Service Group , colors = Maroon, sky blue , colors_label = Colours , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , ...

(special forces) as part of cross-border infiltration efforts by the Pakistan Army. In 2018, the force was alleged to have deployed four battalions to 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 serve ...

in Kashmir, to engage in cross-border infiltration activities against Indian forces. Later in 2018, it was announced that several temporary battalions were to be given permanent status. In November 2019, after the dissolution of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Force was reported to have deployed about 17,000 personnel in 25 battalions, closer to the Line of Control.

Training

Some members of the Force have been trained alongside military personnel at the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

in Kakul, with the 12th such intake graduating in March 2022.

Insignia

The Force badge depicts a star held up by two pointed ends of a crescent super imposed with a dagger in vertical position in clasped wrist pointing upward, resting on a scroll with a war cry inscribed in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

Public image

The Force regularly participates in public events. For example, the 760th Battalion was involved in the

Pakistan Day The Resolution Day ( ur, , translit=Yawm-e-Qarārdād), also known as the Pakistan Day ( ur, , translit=Yawm-e-Pākistān) and Republic Day, is a national holiday in Pakistan primarily commemorating the adoption of the Lahore Resolution by the Mu ...

military parade in Islamabad on 23 March 2017. The Mujahid Force was involved in controversy in June 2019 when it advertised jobs for cleaners but specified that only

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

should apply, although the advertisement was soon withdrawn.

Engagements

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 ...

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

* Fire exchange along the

since 1991

Units

Known battalions * 641 Battalion * 642 Battalion * 645 Battalion * 646 Battalion * 647 Battalion * 648 Battalion * 649 Battalion * 651 Battalion * 654 Battalion * 655 Battalion * 658 Battalion * 702 Battalion * 760 Battalion * 792 Battalion * 801 Battalion

References

{{Pakistan National Guard Military units and formations established in 1965 Military in Azad Kashmir National Guard (Pakistan) Regiments of Pakistan