The Pakistan Rangers ( ur, ) are a paramilitary federal Law enforcement in Pakistan, 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 country, although they are also usually involved in major internal and external security operations with the regular Pakistan Armed Forces, Pakistani military and provide assistance to municipal and provincial police forces to maintain law and order against crime, terrorism and unrest. "Rangers" is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term for the ''Punjab Rangers, Pakistan Rangers − Punjab'' and ''Sindh Rangers, Pakistan Rangers − Sindh'' (colloquially referred to as the ''Punjab Rangers'' and ''Sindh Rangers'', respectively), with the former headquartered in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab and the latter headquartered in Karachi, Sindh—the two Administrative units of Pakistan, provinces of Pakistan in which each respective force has operational jurisdiction. As such, the Pakistan Rangers are responsible for guarding Pakistan's international border with neighbouring India; the Punjab Rangers patrol of the border running along Pakistan's Punjab province, while the Sindh Rangers patrol around the remainder, some running along Pakistan's Sindh province. The two forces operate under their own separate chains of command and wear distinct uniforms. Most famously each evening, the Punjab Rangers, together with their Indian counterparts in the Border Security Force, participate in an elaborate Wagah-Attari border ceremony, flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah−Attari border crossing near Lahore. The mutually-recognized India–Pakistan border, India–Pakistan international border is different from the disputed and heavily militarized Line of Control, Line of Control (LoC), where the Pakistani province of Punjab adjoins Jammu and Kashmir (a Kashmir conflict, conflict territory between India and Pakistan) and the undisputed international border effectively ends. Consequently, the LoC is not managed by the paramilitary Punjab Rangers, but by the regular Pakistan Army. Rangers are formally supervised by the National Crises Management Cell, under the federal Ministry of Interior (Pakistan), Ministry of Interior of Pakistan. However, they can also be commanded by officers on secondment from the Pakistan Army. As of 2017, per the United Kingdom, British International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Rangers had well over 150,000 active personnel. As part of the paramilitary Civil Armed Forces, the Rangers can fall under the full operational control of the Pakistan Armed Forces. This is not exclusively limited to a War, wartime scenario, but whenever Article 245 of the Constitution of Pakistan is invoked to provide "military aid to civil power". An example of this occurring was in 2013, when Karachi, Pakistan's most populous city, had ranked as the sixth-most dangerous city worldwide due to intense violence by criminals, Political corruption, corrupt political agents and Islamic terrorism, Islamist militants (whose presence came as a consequence of the Soviet–Afghan War and Afghan refugees, Pakistan's intake of millions of Afghan refugees in the 1980s). As the situation severely deteriorated and fell out of the control of local police, the Pakistan Rangers undertook a large-scale military operation and initiated an intense crackdown on criminals, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan, MQM political party, as well as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Taliban-aligned militants. This operation took Karachi down from the world's sixth-most dangerous city to 93rd, and allowed the residents of Karachi to resume a normal lifestyle that had been disrupted due to the chaos.

History

The origins of the Pakistan Rangers go back to 1942, when the British Raj, British government established a special unit in Sindh known as the Sindh Police Rifles (SPR) which was commanded by British Indian Army officers. The force was established to fight the rebellious groups in sindh as the British Raj, British government was engaged in World War II. Headquarters of this force was established in Miani Lines Pacca Barrack, Hyderabad Garrison, Hyderabad Cantonment. After the Independence Day (Pakistan), independence of Pakistan in 1947, the name of the force was changed from "Sindh Police Rifles" to "Sindh Police Rangers" and the protection of eastern boundaries with India was allotted to various temporary forces, such as the Punjab Border Police Force, Bahawalpur State Police, Khairpur State Police and Sindh Police Rangers. Because the Rangers were neither correctly structured nor outfitted for a specific duty, on 7 October 1958 they were restructured and renamed to the West Pakistan Rangers. In 1972, following the Bangladesh Liberation War, independence of East Pakistan and Legal Framework Order No. 1970 by the Government of Pakistan, the force was officially renamed from the West Pakistan Rangers to the Pakistan Rangers and put under control of the Ministry of Defence (Pakistan), Ministry of Defence with its headquarters at Lahore. In 1974, the organization became part of the Civil Armed Forces under the Ministry of Interior (Pakistan), Pakistani Ministry of Interior, where it has remained since. In late 1989, due to growing riots and the worsening situation of law and order in the province of Sindh, a new force was raised for a strategic Dacoity, anti-dacoit operation. The paramilitary force operated under the name of the Mehran Force and consisted of the then-existing Sindh Rangers, three battalions of the Pakistan Army (including the Northern Light Infantry, Northern Scouts). The Mehran Force was under the direct command of the Director general, Director-General (DG) of the Pakistan Rangers with its nucleus headquarters in Karachi. Following these series of events, the federal government decided to substantially increase the strength of the Pakistan Rangers and raise a separate, dedicated headquarters for them in the province of Sindh. On 1 July 1995 the Pakistan Rangers were bifurcated into two distinct forces, the Pakistan Rangers – Punjab (Punjab Rangers) and Pakistan Rangers – Sindh (Sindh Rangers). Consequently, the Mehran Force and other Pakistani paramilitary units operating in the province of Sindh were merged with and began to operate under the Sindh Rangers.

Wartime responsibilities

The West Pakistan Rangers fought alongside the Pakistan Army in several conflicts, namely the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. After the war in 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War, subsequent independence of Bangladesh, the force was federalized under the Ministry of Defence (Pakistan), Ministry of Defence as the Pakistan Rangers and shortly afterwards in 1974, it was made a component of the Civil Armed Forces (CAF) under the Ministry of Interior (Pakistan), Ministry of Interior. Since then, the Pakistan Rangers are primarily responsible for guarding the border with neighbouring India during times of peace and war. The Pakistan Rangers are credited for providing the Pakistan Army with additional troops for Special Police Units (SPUs) for UN peacekeeping missions involving Pakistan, various peacekeeping missions during the Yugoslav Wars (United Nations Protection Force, United Nations Protection Force - Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina) and in Haiti (United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, United Nations Stabilization Mission - Haiti). United Nations peacekeeping, UN peacekeeping troops from SPUs are entrusted with the task to provide protection and security to UN officials, provide operational and backup support, respond to threats to public order, and assist various humanitarian agencies. The Pakistan Rangers have participated in military exercises with the Special Service Group, Pakistan Army's Special Service Group (SSG) and also assisted with military operations in the past since their revitalization and rebuilding after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The first such participation was in 1973, when they operated under the command of the SSG to 1973 raid on the Iraqi embassy in Pakistan, raid the Iraqi embassy in Islamabad alongside Capital Territory Police, local police. In 1992, the Sindh Rangers saw an extensive deployment throughout Karachi to keep peace in the city in support of the Government of Sindh. The Sindh Police, Sindh Provincial Police and Pakistan Rangers were involved in Operation Clean-up, Operation Blue Fox against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan, MQM with direction from the Pakistan Army. Due to their close association with the military, the Rangers also saw combat against Indian Army, regular Indian troops during the Kargil War, Kargil War of 1999 in Kashmir. In 2007, the Pakistan Rangers alongside regular Pakistani soldiers and SSG commandos participated in Siege of Lal Masjid, Operation Silence against Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Taliban forces in Islamabad. The conflict started when, after 18 months of tensions between government authorities and Islamist militants, Taliban terrorists attacked the Punjab Rangers guarding the nearby Ministry of Environment (Pakistan), Ministry of Environment building and Arson, set it ablaze. Immediately following this event, they proceeded to attack a nearby Pakistani healthcare centre, kidnapping an abundance of China, Chinese nurses, and subsequently locked themselves inside the Lal Masjid, Islamabad, Red Mosque with hostages. Two years later, in 2009, the Rangers once again participated in a special military operation in Lahore alongside the SSG, when twelve terrorists operating for the Taliban attacked the Manawan Police Training School, Manawan Police Academy in Lahore. The operation ended with eight militants killed and four captured. Later that year, the Government of Pakistan deployed the Punjab Rangers to secure the outskirts of Islamabad when the Taliban had taken over the Buner, Lower Dir, Swat, Pakistan, Swat and Shangla districts. Following these incidents, the Rangers participated in the Pakistan Army's Operation Black Thunderstorm.

Role

Aside from the primary objective of guarding the border with India, the Rangers are also responsible for maintaining internal security in Pakistan and serve as a major Law enforcement in Pakistan, law enforcement organization in the country. Despite this, they do not possess the power to make arrests like the regular police with the exception of when the state temporarily sanctions them with such an authority in times of extreme crisis. Their primary objective as an internal security force is to prevent and suppress crime by taking preventive security measures, cracking down on criminals and thwarting organized crime with the use of major force. All suspects apprehended by the Rangers during a crackdown are later handed over to police for further investigation and possible prosecution when the chaos is brought under control. The same privileges are also temporarily granted by the Government of Pakistan, government to other security organizations such as the Frontier Corps for the same reasons. The Rangers are also tasked with securing important monuments and guarding national assets in all major cities, including Islamabad. In the past, they have also served as prison guards for high-profile terrorists until they were withdrawn from such duties. The Rangers have notably contributed towards maintaining law and order in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore in major crises. Due to the Terrorism in Pakistan, developing internal instability in Pakistan, the Rangers have become an extremely necessary force to maintain order throughout the provinces of Sindh and Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab.

Foreign peacekeeping missions for the United Nations

The Pakistan Rangers have also been involved in United Nations peacekeeping, international peacekeeping operations for the United Nations, United Nations (UN) in a number of countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti and others.

Gallery

File:Allama Iqbals Tomb East wall close-up July 1 2005.jpg, Pakistani Rangers guarding the Tomb of Muhammad Iqbal in Iqbal Park, Lahore File:Baba Chamliyal Mela at Indo-Pak international Border, near Jammu.jpg, Baba Chamliyal Mela at the India–Pakistan border, Indo-Pakistani International Border, near Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu. File:Wagah Border Crossing Guards.JPG, Indian Border Security Force, BSF personnel and Pakistani Rangers during the Wagah-Attari border ceremony. File:Pakistani Ranger.jpg, A Pakistani Ranger in ceremonial dress. File:Pakistani soldier.jpg, A Pakistani Ranger standing by in ceremonial dress. File:Wagah border ceremony4.jpg, A Pakistani Ranger during the Wagah-Attari border ceremony. File:Pakistani border rangers at Wagah border near Lahore 5.jpg, Pakistani Rangers at the Wagah-Attari border crossing. File:Soldiers at Wagah border.jpg, Punjab Rangers near the India–Pakistan border, Indo-Pakistani border with Heckler & Koch G3, G3 assault rifles.

References

External links

Official Web Portal of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh)Pakistan Rangers (Punjab)
"Under Construction"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistan Rangers Pakistan Rangers, * Civil Armed Forces Federal law enforcement agencies of Pakistan Military in Sindh Military in Punjab, Pakistan 1947 establishments in Pakistan Government agencies established in 1947 Non-military counterterrorist organizations Ministry of Interior (Pakistan)