Frontier_Corps_Balochistan_(South)

Frontier Corps Balochistan (South)
Frontier Corps Balochistan (South)
Abbreviation	FCB (S)
Agency overview
Formed	2017; 7 years ago
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency	Pakistan
Operations jurisdiction	Pakistan
Governing body	Ministry of Interior
Constituting instrument	Frontier Corps Ordinance, 1959;
General nature	Federal law enforcement;
Specialist jurisdictions	Paramilitary law enforcement, counter insurgency, and riot control.; National border patrol, security, and integrity.;
Operational structure
Overseen by	Pakistan Army
Headquarters	Turbat, Balochistan
Elected officer responsible	Sarfraz Bugti, Minister of Interior;
Agency executive	Major General Kamran Ahmad, Inspector General, FC Balochistan (South);
Parent agency	Civil Armed Forces

Frontier Corps Balochistan (South)

Pakistani paramilitary force

The Frontier Corps Balochistan (South) (Urdu: فرنٹیئر کور بلوچستان (جنوبی), reporting name: FCB(S)), is a group of paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the southwestern part of the province of Balochistan, to overseeing the country's borders with Afghanistan and Iran and assist with maintaining law and order. It is one of four Frontier Corps with the others being: FC Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North) and FC Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (South) stationed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and FC Balochistan (North) stationed in the northern part of Balochistan province.

Quick Facts Abbreviation, Agency overview ...

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

The 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.^[3]

The Corps consists of several infantry regiments, themselves composed of one or more battalion-sized wings. Some of the regiments were raised during the colonial era.

History

The Frontier Corps was created in 1907 by Lord Curzon, the viceroy of British India, in order to organize seven militia and scout units in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan: the Khyber Rifles, the Zhob Militia, the Kurram Militia, the Tochi Scouts, the Chagai Militia, the South Waziristan Scouts and the Chitral Scouts.^[3]

The Frontier Corps was led by an "inspecting officer" who was a British officer of the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1943 the inspecting officer was upgraded to an inspector general (an officer with the rank of brigadier), and the corps was expanded with the addition of new units—the Second Mahsud Scouts (raised in 1944) and the Pishin Scouts (in 1946).^[3]

After Pakistan and India became independent in 1947, Pakistan expanded the corps further by creating a number of new units, including the Thal Scouts, the Northern Scouts, the Bajaur Scouts, the Karakoram Scouts, the Kalat Scouts, the Dir Scouts and the Kohistan Scouts. British officers continued to serve in the Frontier Corps up to the early 1950s. The corps was split into two major subdivisions with FC Balochistan incorporating the Zhob Militia, the Sibi Scouts, the Kalat Scouts, the Makran Militia, the Kharan Rifles, the Pishin Scouts, the Chaghai Militia and the First Mahsud Scouts.^[3]

In the mid-1970s, the Pakistani government used FC Balochistan to counter terrorism in Balochistan, and the force is unpopular among some of the local population who associate them with human rights violations and heavy-handed operations. To improve the image of the corps, it has been involved in the construction of schools and hospitals, although as of late 2004, corps installations in the province were being routinely attacked by terrorists.^[3]

In 2007, after the collapse of truce agreements between the Pakistani government and local militants, the Frontier Corps, teamed with regular Pakistani military units, conducted incursions into tribal areas controlled by the militants. The effort produced a series of bloody and clumsy confrontations.^[4] On 30 August 2007 about 250 troops, mostly from the Frontier Corps, surrendered to militants without a fight. In early November 2007, most were released in exchange for 25 militants held by the Pakistan Army.^[4]

There is a widespread consensus among United States government military and intelligence experts that the Frontier Corps are the best potential military units against the Islamist militants because its troops are locally recruited, know local languages and understand local cultures. The United States provided more than US$7 billion in military aid to Pakistan from 2002 to 2007, most of which was used to equip the Frontier Corps because it is in the front line of the fight against the Islamist insurgents. From late 2007, the Pakistani government intended to expand the corps to 100,000 and use it more in fighting Islamist militants, particularly Al-Qaeda, after extensive consultations with the U.S. government, with a multi-year plan to bolster the effort, including the establishment of a counterinsurgency training centre.^[4] The US Obama policy for Pakistan was seen as a clear victory for the Pakistan Army lobby in the US. The $1.5 billion a year unrestricted aid recently^[when?] announced will go a long way in seeing that the Frontier Corps stay at the height of their professional abilities due to new equipment and training.

The Corps also fired occasionally on the U.S.-assisted Afghan Army.^[5]

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Frontier_Corps_Balochistan_(South), and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] [1]
"20 Months Achievements" (PDF). National Database and Registration Authority. p. 60. Retrieved 10 December 2022.

[2] [2]
Frontier Corps Ordinance, 1959 (Ordinance XXVI). 1959.

[jamestown-3] [3]
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.

[lat1-4] [4]
Miller, Greg, "U.S. military aid to Pakistan misses its Al Qaeda target", Los Angeles Times, November 5, 2007, accessed November 7, 2007.

[bg-5] [5]
Stockman, Farah, "Pakistan aid plan facing resistance / $300m requested for paramilitaries", Boston Globe, July 22, 2007, accessed November 7, 2007.

[6] [6]
"Balochistan unrest: FC police powers mandate gets one-month extension". The Express Tribune. 3 November 2012.

[7] [7]
"No Governor rule, army control: PM gives FC police powers in Quetta". The Express Tribune. 12 January 2013.

[8] [8]
The Newspaper's Staff Correspondent (March 2015). "Police powers for FC extended". Dawn.

[9] [9]
"FC playing vital role towards security of Balochistan: Lt Gen Asim". Radio Pakistan. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2022.

[10] [10]
"The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 30 December 2020. p. 181. Retrieved 12 December 2022.

[11] [11]
"The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 20 May 2020. p. 445. Retrieved 19 December 2022.

[12] [12]
"20 Months Achievements" (PDF). National Database and Registration Authority. p. 12-14. Retrieved 27 December 2022.

[13] [13]
"No PR-89/2011-ISPR". Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) (Press release). 12 April 2011.

[14] [14]
"Pakistan Military received 100 modernised T55 Battle Tanks from the foreign country". April 2020.

[15] [15]
"FC taking measures to ensure peace in border areas: IG". Dawn (newspaper). 21 April 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2021.

[16] [16]
"IGFC South meets Balochistan governor". Business Recorder (newspaper). 13 January 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

Frontier_Corps_Balochistan_(South)

Frontier Corps Balochistan (South)

History

Role

Organisation

Equipment

Basic Equipment

Small Arms

Mortars and Artillery

Vehicles

Armoured Vehicles

Aircraft

Inspectors general

Schools and colleges

See also

References

External links

Share this article:

Units
Frontier Corps Battle School, Khuzdar, Balochistan^[3]
142 Special Operations Wing^[9]
Frontier Corps Intelligence Unit (South)^[10]
Independent Armed Car Squadron^[11]
Awaran Militia (2006)
Chagai Militia
Dasht Scouts (2018)
Dalbandin Rifles
Kalat Scouts (raised in 1965)
Mekran Scouts (1974)
Kharan Rifles (1965)
Nushki Militia (2002)
Panjgur Rifles (2005)
Taftan Rifles
Interior Ministry support
50 Aviation Squadron^[12]