Frontier Corps

Not to be confused with Frontier Constabulary or Frontier Force Regiment.

Frontier Corps
سرحد واہنی
The main logo of the FC
The main logo of the FC
AbbreviationFC
Agency overview
Formed1878; 146 years ago (1878)
Employees70,000 personnel as of 2017
Annual budgetRs. 105 billion (2024)
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agencyPakistan
Operations jurisdictionPakistan
Governing bodyMinistry of Interior
Constituting instrument
  • Frontier Corps Ordinance, 1959[1]
General nature
Specialist jurisdictions
  • Paramilitary law enforcement, counter insurgency, and riot control.
  • National border patrol, security, and integrity.
Operational structure
Overseen byPakistan Army
Headquarters
Elected officer responsible
Agency executives
  • Major General Anjum Riaz, Inspector General, KPK (North)
  • Major General Abid Mazhar, Inspector General, Balochistan (North)
  • Major General Mehr Omer Khan, Inspector General, KPK (South)
  • Major General Bilal Sarfaraz, Inspector General, Balochistan (South)
Parent agencyCivil Armed Forces
Website
www.interior.gov.pk/index.php/hq-frontier-corps-kpk-peshawar
www.interior.gov.pk/index.php/hq-frontier-corps-balochistan-quetta

The Frontier Corps (Urdu: سرحد واہنی, reporting name: FC) are a group of four paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's borders with Afghanistan and Iran. There are four Frontier Corps: FC KPK (North) and FC KPK (South) stationed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (formed from the previously named North-West Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas), and FC Balochistan (North) and FC Balochistan (South) stationed in Balochistan province.

The Frontier Corps are often confused with Frontier Constabulary as both forces are abbreviated as ''FC''. Frontier Corps are group of four paramilitary forces officered by the Pakistan Army. On the other hand, Frontier Constabulary is a unified force officered by the Police Service of Pakistan.

Each Corps is headed by a seconded inspector general, who is a Pakistan Army officer of at least major-general rank, although the force itself is officially under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry.[2]

With a total manpower of approximately 70,000,[3][4] and a budget of Rs. 105 billion,[5] the task of the Frontier Corps is to help local law enforcement, and to carry out border patrol, counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling operations.[6]

Each Corps consists of several regiments, themselves composed of one or more battalion-sized wings. Some of the regiments were raised during the colonial era. These include the Chitral Scouts, the Khyber Rifles, the Kurram Militia, the Tochi Scouts, the South Waziristan Scouts, and the Zhob Militia. The Khyber Rifles were in fact regularised during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and fought with distinction in Kashmir.

  1. ^ Frontier Corps Ordinance, 1959 (Ordinance XXVI). 1959.
  2. ^ Abbas, Hassan (30 March 2007). "Transforming Pakistan's Frontier Corps". Terrorism Monitor. 5 (6). Washington: Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  3. ^ "Journey from Scratch to Nuclear Power". Pakistan Army. Archived from the original on 3 May 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  4. ^ Ghumman, Mushtaq (27 April 2021). "Civil armed forces: Cabinet decides to revisit structure, strength". Business Recorder. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Interior Division" (PDF). 5 January 2024.
  6. ^ Miller, Greg. "U.S. military aid to Pakistan misses its Al Qaeda target". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007.