The National Guard of Pakistan ( ur, ) is a reserve military force and the component 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 ...

that is designed to act as a "second line of defense" in

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 ...

. together with the

Pakistan Army Reserve 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 ...

, the

Frontier Corps The Frontier Corps ( ur, , reporting name: FC), are a group of paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's ...

and 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 ...

History

The National Guard was established on 1 January 1948 as a reserve component of the Pakistan Army, first advertised as the volunteer corps later expanded as a Women's Guard.

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...

appointed

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 ...

Syed Shahid Hamid Major General Syed Shahid Hamid ( ur, ) HJ (17 September 1910 – 12 March 1993) was a two-star general in the Pakistan Army, and a close associate of President Ayub Khan. Hamid was the first Master General of Ordnance (MGO) of the Pakis ...

as its first chief, and later delegated the command to

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Akbar Khan.

Organization

The command and control of the National Guard is under the Chief of Army Staff, who serves as the Principal Officer Commanding from Army GHQ in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

. The National Guard was initially authorised by the "Pakistan National Guard Ordinance, 1947" on 2nd November 1947, and was initially composed of infantry on 7-year contracts. It was expanded in 1972 in the aftermath of the secession of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. It is currently composed of two forces: * The

Mujahid Force The Mujahid Force ( ur, ) is a paramilitary regiment and a component of the National Guard of Pakistan, normally under the command of the Pakistan Army. History The force was established in 1965, and was merged into the National Guard whe ...

, a paramilitary regiment of numerous battalions, which supports and supplements the regular Army during national emergencies and war. * The

Janbaz Force The Janbaz Force ( ur, ) is a component of the National Guard of Pakistan, and a paramilitary force under the command of the Pakistan Army. It acts as a reserve force for the regular Army in times of national emergency or war. The force has ...

, which operates air defence batteries and infantry companies under the control of the provincial governments, and its members tend to serve close to their home districts. The two current components are recruited, trained and deployed in their local areas, and are mainly charged with air defence and helping with national emergencies. Previously, the National Guard also included two other forces: *

National Cadet Corps National Cadet Corps may refer to: *Bangladesh National Cadet Corps * National Cadet Corps (Ghana) *National Cadet Corps (India) * National Cadet Corps (Pakistan) *National Cadet Corps (Singapore) *National Cadet Corps (Sri Lanka) The Nation ...

(dissolved in 2002) * Women's National Guard (formed in 1948) (dissolved) The National Cadet Corps, was similar to the British

Officers' Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

. The National Cadet Corps was disbanded in 2002 by President

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

, although there were calls for the Corps to be restored at a federal level in 2015, and at provincial level in 2019. The Women's Guard was formed at the behest of

Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan गुल-इ-राणा ( Kumaoni) , image = Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan (1961).jpg , imagesize = , alt = , smallimage = , caption = Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan in 1961 , alongside = , predecessor = Mir Rasool Bux Talpur , p ...

, wife of the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Guard included individuals trained in nursing, welfare, and clerical work. There were also some women in the Janbaz Force, and a very small number of women were recruited into regular service to perform medical and educational work.

References

Paramilitary forces of Pakistan {{Pakistan-mil-stub

History

Organization

See also

References