The Punjab Regiment is an 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 ...

. The regiment takes its name from the historic

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

region, which is now divided into the Punjab province of Pakistan and the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n states of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

and

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

. It was raised in its current form in 1956, following the amalgamation of the

1st First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, 14th, 15th and 16th Punjab regiments that were inherited by the

Dominion of Pakistan Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of ...

from the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...

upon the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

. Since then, the regiment has expanded in size to 34 battalions. It is the oldest regiment in the Pakistan Army, tracing its lineage to as far back as 1751, during the reign of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. The regiment's battalions have a distinguished record of military service, spanning the rise and decline of

British colonial rule The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

, both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, as well as post-independence

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 ...

Early history

The Punjab Regiment of Pakistan traces its origins back to the

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government ...

of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

. The senior-most

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 ...

of the

1st Punjab Regiment The 1st Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamated w ...

(which existed separately before

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

) was raised in 1759 as the 3rd Battalion of Coast

Sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its ot ...

s, and became the oldest-surviving

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

battalion of the erstwhile

. Their first major engagement saw a decisive victory at the

Battle of Wandiwash The Battle of Wandiwash was a battle in India between the French and the British in 1760. The battle was part of the Third Carnatic War fought between the French and British colonial empires, which itself was a part of the global Seven Years' ...

in 1760, when the British East India Company, led by

Sir Eyre Coote Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, KB (1726 – 28 April 1783) was a British soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1780. He is best known for his many years of service with the British Army in India. His victory a ...

, effectively ended

French colonial French colonial architecture includes several styles of architecture used by the French during colonization. Many former French colonies, especially those in Southeast Asia, have previously been reluctant to promote their colonial architectur ...

ambitions in

. All of the regiment's battalions subsequently played an important role in the early military campaigns of the East India Company and were actively engaged in the wars against the French, the

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in South India, southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary allia ...

and the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

. The numbers and titles of the battalions changed during the successive reorganizations of the

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Presidency Army, the British Indian Army and the Indian Army during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The names changed from Coast Sepoys to Carnatic Infantry, Madras Native Infantry, Punjabis and finally to the Punjab Regiment. After the

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

of 1857, the new colonial administration applied the

martial race Martial race was a designation which was created by army officials in British India after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which they classified each caste as belonging to one of two categories, the 'martial' caste and the 'non-martial' caste. ...

s concept, following which

north India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Cen ...

n soldiers overwhelmingly supplanted the

south Indians The Dravidian peoples, or Dravidians, are an ethnolinguistic and cultural group living in South Asia who predominantly speak any of the Dravidian languages. There are around 250 million native speakers of Dravidian languages. Dravidian spe ...

. The regiment was eventually renamed to the Punjab Regiment.

British Raj

20th (Punjab) Bengal Infantry (6 Punjab), Egypt 1882 2

Following the

British Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

's takeover of rule over

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 ...

from the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

in 1858, the Punjab regiments played a role in numerous conflicts across the world involving the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. Various

s were deployed to regions of British interest, ranging from modern-day

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

and erstwhile

Abyssinia The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...

. Between 1903 and 1922, the

included 28 numbered Punjabi Regiments. In 1922, these were amalgamated into six numbered regiments, namely: *

2nd Punjab Regiment The 2nd Punjab Regiment was a British Indian Army regiment from 1922 to the partition of India in 1947. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of other regiments: *1st Battalion, from the 67th Punjabis, formerly the 7th Regiment of Madras N ...

8th Punjab Regiment The 8th Punjab Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. It was transferred to Pakistan Army on Partition of India in 1947 and merged with the Baluch Regiment in 1956. History Madras Infantry The 8th Punjab Regimen ...

14th Punjab Regiment The 14th Punjab Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. It was transferred to the Pakistan Army on independence in 1947, and amalgamated with the 1st, 15th and 16th Punjab Regiments in 1956, to form the Punjab Regi ...

15th Punjab Regiment The 15th Punjab Regiment was a infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947 and of the Pakistan Army from 1947 to 1956. Following its allotment to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947, it was amalgamated in 1956 with ...

16th Punjab Regiment The 16th Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamate ...

These regiments would all play a prominent role during

. From the

, the 1st and 5th battalions were deployed in Malaya during the opening stages of the Southeast Asian theatre. The 1st Battalion, under the command of

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

James Fitzpatrick, was overrun by Imperial Japanese forces at

Changlun Changlun also known as Changlon ( th, จังโหลน; ) is a small town in Kubang Pasu District, Kedah, Malaysia. The word ''changlun'' originates from Thai language, Thai, ''chang lon'' ( th, ช้างหล่น), which means "fall ...

during the

Battle of Jitra The Battle of Jitra was fought between the invading Japanese and Allied forces during the Malayan Campaign of the Second World War, from 11–13 December 1941. The British defeat compelled Arthur Percival to order all Allied aircraft stationed ...

. With only 270 survivors, the 1st Battalion was not reformed during the rest of the campaign. The 5th Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Livesy Lawrence Stokes, performed relatively well in the British invasion of Japanese Thailand in early December 1941. However, Stokes died in Japanese captivity on 15 February 1942, following the

Battle of Slim River The Battle of Slim River occurred during the Malayan campaign in January 1942 between the Imperial Japanese Army and the British Indian Army on the west coast of Malaya. Background Japanese forces had invaded north-west Malaya from southern Th ...

. The 5/14th Punjabis was forced to surrender along with the rest of the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

forces after the

Fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire ...

to the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent form ...

on 15 February 1942. However, a number of the Indian troops from both battalions later joined the Japanese-backed

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

, and formed a part of the

Hindustan Field Force The Hindustan Field Force was the first operational regiment of the Indian National Army that was formed in September 1942 under the first INA. Under the command of J.K. Bhonsle, the unit was formed at Singapore and comprised three battalions deri ...

Partition of India and independence

33rd Punjabi Army (Commander Punjabi Subadar) by A C Lovett

In 1947, 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 ...

announced the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

, which would be split into two separate countries: a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

-majority

and a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

-majority

. Likewise, the

was also to be divided between the two states. Out of the six existing Punjab Regiments, the 1st Punjab, 8th, 14th, 15th and 16th were allotted to the newly raised

, while the 2nd went to the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

. The Punjab Regiment of the Pakistan Army was raised in its present form in 1956, when four of the five Punjab Regiments allocated to Pakistan were merged into a unified unit.

Punjab Regiments allocated to Pakistan in 1947 (now part of the Pakistan Army Punjab Regiment)

– Amalgamated with the

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments. During more ...

and

Bahawalpur Regiment The Bahawalpur Regiment was a regiment of Pakistan Army. The regiment was formed in 1952 from the infantry battalions of the erstwhile Princely State of Bahawalpur, which had acceded to Pakistan in 1947. In 1956, the Bahawalpur Regiment was merged ...

to form the present-day

Baloch Regiment The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the Baluch Regiment. Since then, further raisings have brought the strength of ...

The line up for the new regiment was:Rizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). ''Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759–1981''. Lahore: Wajidalis. *1 Punjab – 1/1st Punjab *2 Punjab – 2/1st Punjab *3 Punjab – 3/1st Punjab *4 Punjab – 5/1st Punjab *5 Punjab – 1/14th Punjab *6 Punjab – 2/14th Punjab (Duke of Cambridge's Own) *7 Punjab – 3/14th Punjab *8 Punjab – 4/14th Punjab *9 Punjab – 1/15th Punjab *10 Punjab – 2/15th Punjab *11 Punjab – 3/15th Punjab *12 Punjab – 4/15th Punjab *13 Punjab – 1/16th Punjab *14 Punjab – 2/16th Punjab *15 Punjab – 3/16th Punjab *16 Punjab – 5/14th Punjab (Pathans) *17 Punjab – 4/16th Punjab (Bhopal) *18 Punjab – 7/1st Punjab *19 Punjab – 7/16th Punjab *20 Punjab – 14/1st Punjab

Punjab Regiments allocated to India in 1947 (now part of the Indian Army Punjab Regiment)

The 1st Punjab's regimental centre was located in the city of

Jhelum Jhelum (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...

. In early September 1947, Pakistani personnel arrived from the 2nd Punjab's regimental centre in

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

(present-day

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

, India) and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

personnel were dispatched to either the 11th Sikhs or the 6th Rajputanas regimental centres depending on whether they were

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...

or Hindu Rajputs. The Punjab Regiment at its height totalled 58 battalions; however, 11 were transferred in 1980 to the Pakistan Army's newly raised

Sind Regiment ur, سندھ رجمنٹ) , image = Badge of Sind Regiment.png , image_size = , alt = , caption = Regimental cap badge , start_date = 1980 , disbanded = , country = , allegiance = , branch = , type = , role = infantry , size = 34 bat ...

Class and religious composition

Before the

in 1947, the ethno-religious composition of the Punjab Regiment consisted of:

Punjabi Muslims Punjabi Muslims ( pa, ) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. Primarily geographically native to the Punjab province of Pakistan today, many have ancestry in the entire Punjab regio ...

(50%);

Punjabi Hindus Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. While Punjabi Hindus are mostly found in the Indian state of Punjab today, many have ancestry from the greater Punjab regi ...

(40%);

Punjabi Sikhs Punjabi Sikhs are adherents of Sikhism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis and are native of Undivided Punjab region of Indian Subcontinent. Sikhism is an Indigenous religion born and brought up in Punjab ...

(10%). Following the regiment's transfer to the

, it became largely religiously

homogenous Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...

, comprising mostly

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

with around 20% ethnic

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

and 80%

Punjabis The Punjabis (Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. ...

Colonel-in-chief

Since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Punjab Regiment has seen the appointment of four colonel-in-chiefs; *

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

, 5th Punjab *

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Asif Nawaz General Asif Nawaz Janjua NI(M), HI(M), SBt, psc, (Urdu: ; 3 January 1937 – 8 January 1993) was a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who served as the fourth Chief of Army Staff from 16 August 1991 until his death by Arsenic poiso ...

, 5th Punjab * General Aziz Khan, 12th Punjab"Army can defend every inch: Musharraf"
''Daily Times'', March 22, 2003 * General Khalid Shameem, 20th Punjab

Recipients of the Nishan-e-Haider

The Nishan-e-Haider is the highest

gallantry award Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a meda ...

awarded by

to those who show an incredible amount of valour and courage on the battlefield in the face of staunch adversity. To date, only ten soldiers have been awarded this honour, of which four belonged to the Punjab Regiment: #

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Muhammad Sarwar, 2nd Punjabis (1910 – July 27, 1948) #

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

Muhammad Tufail, 13th Punjabis (1943 – August 7, 1958) #

Aziz Bhatti Major Raja Aziz Bhatti ( pa, ; ur, ; 6 August 1928– 12 September 1965) born as Aziz Ahmad but usually known as Raja Aziz Bhatti, was a Pakistan Army officer. He was awarded the ''Nishan-e-Haider'' for his actions of valour during the Batt ...

, 17th Punjabis (1928 – September 10, 1965) # Naïk

Muhammad Mahfuz Naik Muhammad Mahfuz (born 25 October 1944) was a Pakistani soldier, who was awarded the Nishan-e-Haider, the highest military award of Pakistan, after he was killed in battle during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Early life Muhammad Mahf ...

, 15th Punjabis (1944 – December 17, 1971) As a form of respect, deceased recipients are given the honorary title of

Shaheed ''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...

( ar, شهيد; '), which denotes

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

dom, whilst living recipients are dubbed Ghazi ( ar, غازي; '), the

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic term for warrior.

Notable former personnel

*Field Marshal

Tareen, N.Pk., H.aPk., HJ - 5 Punjab *General

Asif Nawaz Janjua General Asif Nawaz Janjua NI(M), HI(M), SBt, psc, ( Urdu: ; 3 January 1937 – 8 January 1993) was a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who served as the fourth Chief of Army Staff from 16 August 1991 until his death by Arsenic pois ...

- 5 Punjab *General

Muhammad Shariff General Muhammad Shariff ( ur, ; 22 February 1921 – 6 August 1999) was a senior Pakistan Army general who was the first Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, serving in this post from 1976 until tendering his resignation in 1977 over ...

- 3 Punjab *General Aziz Khan, NI(M), SBt, HI(M) - 12 Punjab *General

Khalid Shameem Wynne General Khalid Shameem Wynne ( ur, ; 28 August 1953 – 30 December 2017), was a four-star General in the Pakistan Army who served as the 14th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee appointed in 2010 until retiring on 8 October 2013. ...

, NI(M) - 20 Punjab *Major

Malik Munawar Khan Awan Malik Munawar Khan Awan () was a Major rank officer in the Pakistan Army, whose career had begun in the British Indian Army and included spells in the Imperial Japanese Army and the revolutionary Indian National Army that fought against the All ...

, SJ, King of Rajouri (reposted to 21 AK regt from 5 Punjab). *Lieutenant General

Aftab Ahmad Khan Lieutenant-General Aftab Ahmad Khan was a Pakistan Army Infantry Officer, born in Batala, Gurdaspur District, British India on 22 October 1923 to the illustrious family of Khan Bahadur Mian Altaf Hussain Khan (1874–1946) and Mehndi Begum. ...

*Lieutenant General

Tariq Pervez Khan Tariq Pervez Khan (15 February 1948 – 18 April 2020) was the Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court in Pakistan. He was later elevated to the Supreme Court from where he retired in February 2013. He also served as the caretaker chief ministe ...

, Escaped from Fathergarh (India) - 6 Punjab *Lieutenant General

Masood Aslam Lieutenant-General Muhammad Masood Aslam, HI, HI(M), SJ, afwc, psc, (born September 1, 1952, at Jhelum) is a retired three-star rank general officer who served almost 40 years in the Pakistan Army. He was the principal commander of the XI Cor ...

, HI, HI(M), SJ - 4 Punjab *Lieutenant General

Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi (1915 – 1 February 2004) was a Pakistan Army general. During the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he commanded the Pakistani Eastern Command in East Pakistan (now Bang ...

, HJ& Bar, MC 2 Punjab & 5 Punjab *Major General Adam Khan C2 Punjab *Major General

Sher Ali Khan Pataudi Major General Nawabzada Sher Ali Khan of Pataudi ( ur, ) HJ (13 May 1913 – 29 May 2002) was a Major General in Pakistan. Born into the Pataudi family, He was the second son of Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan, in Pataudi and his wife Shahar Bano Begu ...

, HJ 1st Punjab *Lieutenant General Shahid Baig Mirza HI(M) , 11 Punjab

27th Punjabis The 27th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 19th Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 27th Punjabis in 1903 and became 3rd Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, i ...

*Lieutenant General

Asim Saleem Bajwa Asim Saleem Bajwa (Urdu, Punjabi: ) is a retired Pakistani three-star general who served as the chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority from November 2019 to August 2021 and the special assistant to then Prime Minister Imran ...

, TBt - 34 Punjab *Lieutenant General Zaheerul Islam - 13 Punjab *Lieutenant Colonel Ghulam Hussain Chaudry, HJ - 3 Punjab *Major

Raja Nadir Pervez Major Raja Nadir Pervez Khan (born November 11, 1940) is a Pakistani politician, ex-Member of Parliament, MP of the Parliament of Pakistan, Parliament, and former Pakistan Army officer. A former member of the Pakistan Army's Punjab Regiment (Pak ...

, SJ & Bar - 6 Punjab *Major

Tufail Mohammad Major Tufail Mohammad ( ur, ; b. 22 June 1914 8 August 1958), was a military officer in the Pakistan Army and the second military officer in the Pakistani military who was cited with the Nishan-e-Haider () for his "distinguished actions of ...

Shaheed, NH - 13 Punjab *Major

Raja Aziz Bhatti Major Raja Aziz Bhatti ( pa, ; ur, ; 6 August 1928– 12 September 1965) born as Aziz Ahmad but usually known as Raja Aziz Bhatti, was a Pakistan Army officer. He was awarded the '' Nishan-e-Haider'' for his actions of valour during the Bat ...

Shaheed, NH - 17 Punjab *Captain Muhammad Sarwar Shaheed, NH - 2 Punjab *Captain

Ishar Singh Sardar Bahadur Ishar Singh VC, OBI (30 December 1895 – 2 December 1963) was a soldier in the British Indian Army and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British a ...

, VC, OBI - 12 Punjab (28th Punjabis) *Lieutenant Karamjeet Singh Judge, VC 12 Punjab (4/15th Punjab) *

Jemadar 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' ...

Abdul Latif Khan Tarin, IDSM,

82nd Punjabis The 82nd Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1788, as the 29th Madras Battalion. It was designated as the 82nd Punjabis in 1903 and became the 5th Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was al ...

. *Lance Naik

Shaheed, NH - 15 Punjab *Lance Naik Sher Shah, VC - 19 Punjab *Naik Gian Singh, VC *Naik Shahamad Khan, VC, 89th Punjabis. *Col. S.G. Mehdi M.C, ex-Group Commander SSG; - 15 Punjab *Lieutenant General KM Azhar Khan, HI, HI(M)] - 18 Punjab, The Desert Hawks Battalion] *Lieutenant General Arif Hayat, I(M)- 18 Punjab, The Desert Hawks Battalion] *Lieutenant General Asif Yasin Malik, HI, HI(M) *lieutenant General M.Arif Bangash - 3 Punjab *Lieutenant General Humayoun Khan Bangash *Major General Tahir Masood Bhutta, 54 Punjab *Major General Abid Ejaz Kahlon, HI(M) - 18 Punjab, The Desert Hawks Battalion] *Major General Haroon sikandar Pasha, 20 Punjab *Major General Muhammad Mushtaq, HI, H *Brigadier Raja Habib ur Rahman, - 5 Punjab *Brigadier Nusrat Khan Sial, itara - e - Basalat S(Bt) - 35 Punjab *Major Farook Adam,SJ - 2 Punjab *Captain Raja Khawar Shahab Shaheed, 35 Punjab. *Captain Abdul Jalil Orakzai Shaheed 3rd Punjab Regiment at Kali-dhar AJK 1965 War

Current units

It is the largest infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army, consisting of 34 battalions. * 1st Battalion * 2nd Battalion * 3rd Battalion * 4th Battalion *

5th Battalion Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

6th Battalion 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...

* 7th Battalion * 8th Battalion * 9th Battalion * 10th Battalion * 11th Battalion * 12th Battalion * 13th Battalion * 14th Battalion * 15th Battalion *

16th Battalion 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

* 17th Battalion * 18th Battalion * 22nd Battalion * 25th Battalion * 29th Battalion * 31st Battalion * 32nd Battalion * 36th Battalion * 37th Battalion * 38th Battalion * 39th Battalion * 41st Battalion * 46th Battalion * 54th Battalion * 56th Battalion * 57th Battalion * 59th Battalion * 61st Battalion * 63rd Battalion * 67th Battalion (Light Anti-Tank) * 69th Battalion * 84th Battalion

Alliances

* 1st Bn with

The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and The Ulster Defence Regiment) (R IRISH) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was founded in 1992 through the amalgamation of the Royal Irish Rangers and the Ulste ...

* 8th Bn and 14th Bn with The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border) * 12th, 14th, 15th, and 17th Bn with

The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the ...

* 13th Bn with

The Mercian Regiment The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, which is recruited from five of the counties that formed the ancient kingdom of Mercia. Known as 'The Heart of England's Infant ...

Notes

External links

* {{Pakistan Infantry Regiments Infantry regiments of Pakistan British Indian Army infantry regiments Honourable East India Company regiments Military units and formations established in 1801 Military in Punjab, Pakistan