Zhob Militia

Zhob Militia
Active 1852 – present
Country British Raj British Raj (1852–1948)
Pakistan Pakistan (1948–present)
Allegiance Pakistan
Branch British Indian Army (1852–1948)
Frontier Corps (1948–present)
Type Militia/Paramilitary
Role Light Infantry
Internal Security
Size 4,000 men
Part of 4 Battalions
Regimental Centre Zhob, Baluchistan

The Zhob Militia are a unit of the Frontier Corps, a Pakistani paramilitary force based in Baluchistan and are one of the oldest paramilitary groups in the region.[1] [2] The militia is under the control of the Frontier Corps and is commanded by officers seconded from Pakistan Army.

History

They were raised by Cavalry officer William Raikes-Hodson in 1852 to be a scouting adjunct to the Corps of Guides and Hodson's Horse. They were raised entirely from Pashtun and Baluch tribesmen as well as Persian-speaking Afghans. Between 1917 and 1920 they acted as a Mounted infantry regiment under the command of British officers.[3] They fought against Amānullāh Khān forces during the Third Anglo-Afghan War.[4] The enlisted men and sepoys are mostly recruited from the Tareen, Kakar and Abdali tribes native to the region. The Militia converted from the .303 Rifle to the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle in 1985. In the latter part of the Soviet-Afghan War, the unit carried on scouting and mounted reconnaissance operations deep into Khost and Ghazni, Afghanistan.

References

  1. ↑ "Zhob Cantonment". Global Security.
  2. ↑ Tripodi, Christian (2011). Edge of empire : the British political officer and tribal administration on the North-West frontier 1877–1947. Ashgate. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-7546-6838-1.
  3. ↑ Indian Army (1923). Operations in Waziristan, 1919–1920. Government Central Press. p. 74.
  4. ↑ Tomsen, Peter (2011). Wars of Afghanistan (1st ed.). Public Affairs. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-58648-781-2.
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