Paramilitary forces of Pakistan

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Pakistan Armed Forces پاک مسلح افواج
Emblem of Pakistan
Service branches	Pakistan Army Pakistan Air Force Pakistan Navy (Marines) Pakistan Coast Guard Paramilitary Command of Pakistan Pakistan Nuclear Command Authority
Headquarters	Rawalpindi
Leadership
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee	General Khalid Shameem Wynne
Secretary of Defence	Nargis Sethi
Chief of Army Staff Chief of Air Staff Chief of Naval Staff	General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafik Butt Admiral Muhammad Asif Sandila
Manpower
Military age	16–49 years old[1]
Conscription	None
Available for military service	48,453,305 males, age 16–49 (2010 est.), 44,898,096 females, age 16–49 (2010 est.)
Fit for military service	37,945,440 males, age 16–49 (2010 est.), 37,381,549 females, age 16–49 (2010 est.)
Reaching military age annually	2,237,723 males (2010 est.), 2,104,906 females (2010 est.)
Active personnel	617,000[2] (ranked 7th)
Reserve personnel	513,000
Expenditures
Budget	$6.41 billion (2010–11) (ranked 35th)
Percent of GDP	2.6% (2008)[3]
Industry
Domestic suppliers	Air Weapons Complex Heavy Industries Taxila Kahuta Research Laboratories Karachi Shipyard National Defence Complex National Engineering and Scientific Commission Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Pakistan Ordnance Factories SATUMA Integrated Defence Systems
Foreign suppliers	China  United States  France  Italy  Germany  Sweden  Turkey
Annual imports	China, United States
Related articles
History	Military history of Pakistan UN peacekeeping missions Weapons of mass destruction (706) Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 1970s Baloch Insurgency Siachen conflict Kargil War War in North-West Pakistan
Ranks	Awards and decorations of the Pakistan military

The paramilitary forces of Pakistan consist of various organizations constitutionally charged with safeguarding Pakistan from external and internal threats. Their current strength approximately 427,627 personnel^{[citation needed]}.

The paramilitary forces can be divided into three categories, performing three distinct roles: Firstly the armed security forces (the Rangers and Frontier Corps), secondly a reserve force (the National Guard), and thirdly the Maritime Security Agency.

The Northern Light Infantry which was a paramilitary force until 1999, is now part of the Pakistan Army.

Strength

Tasks

• Pakistan National Guard: The National Guard comprises the Mujahid Force, the Janbaz Force and locally recruited militia and are charged with air defense. Also included are the National Cadet Corps and the Women's Guard.

• Pakistan Rangers: The Rangers are headquartered in Lahore, Punjab and in Karachi, Sindh. This force has a border security role on the international borders of Punjab and Sindh and perform internal security duties as an extension of the Army. This force is organised on a provincial level but are subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior and are commanded by seconded army generals.
  • Mehran Force: The Mehran Force, based in the Sindh province, performed the same function as the Punjab-based Rangers. The Mehran Force became the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) in 1995.^[4] It was a force of 25,000 men divided into "wings" of approximately 800 men each.

• Frontier Corps: The Frontier Corps, based in Peshawar, North West Frontier Province and Quetta, Balochistan is responsible for protecting the western border regions. The force is responsible to both the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions and to Army Headquarters. The Force comprises fourteen units based in the North-West Frontier and sixteen units based in Balochistan. Some of the local units have a long history such as the Chitral Scouts, the Khyber Rifles, Swat Levies, the Kurram Militia, the Tochi Scouts, the South Waziristan Scouts, the Zhob Militia, and the Gilgit Scouts. These histories date back to Colonial times and many of the regiments have distinguished combat records, e.g. the Khyber Rifles. These regiments can be "regularized" i.e. attached to regular Army as necessary. Khyber Rifles was in fact regularized during the 1965 war and fought with distinction in Kashmir.

• Maritime Security Agency: The 2,500-strong Maritime Security Agency, headquartered in Karachi, is a coast guard and is responsible for patrolling Pakistan's territorial waters. The MSA is equipped with a former Pakistan Navy destroyer, two coastal patrol craft and four oceanic patrol craft.

• Airport Security Force: Safeguarding and protecting airports in Pakistan.^[5][6]

See also

• History of the Pakistan Army
• Khyber Rifles
• Indo-Pakistani Wars
• Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction

References

External links

• CIA World Factbook 2005
• Pakistan Military Guide from GlobalSecurity.org
• Pakistan Military Consortium
• JCO Ranks
• Rank insignia of the World
• BBC Pakistan Military Through the Ages

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