| Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) پنجاب رینجرز | |
|---|---|
 Insignia of the Punjab Rangers | |
| Common name | Punjab Rangers |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1942; 84 years ago (1942) (as Sindh Rifles) July 3, 1977; 48 years ago (1977-07-03) (as Pakistan Rangers Punjab[1]) |
| Employees | 16,100 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Federal agency | Pakistan |
| Operations jurisdiction | Pakistan |
.svg) | |
| Map of Punjab Rangers jurisdiction (in red) within Pakistan | |
| Governing body | Ministry of Interior |
| Constituting instrument |
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| General nature | |
| Specialist jurisdictions |
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| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Lahore,Punjab |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | Civil Armed Forces |
| Website | |
| pakistanrangers | |
ThePunjab Rangers (formallyPakistan Rangers (Punjab)) (Punjabi:پنجاب رینجرز) is a federalparamilitary force inPakistan. It is one of nineCivil Armed Forces and is one of two Ranger forces with the other one being theSindh Rangers, which operates inSindh province. The corps operates administratively under theInterior Ministry of Pakistan but is usually commanded by officers on secondment from thePakistan Army. Their primary purpose is to secure and defend about 1,300 km (810 mi) of the northern part of theborder with neighbouring India. They are also often involved in major internal and external security operations with the regularPakistani military and provide assistance to municipal and provincial police forces to maintain law and order against crime, terrorism and unrest.
As part of the paramilitaryCivil Armed Forces, the Rangers can fall under the full operational control of thePakistan Armed Forces when necessary. This is not exclusively limited to awartime scenario, but whenever Article 245 of theConstitution of Pakistan is invoked to provide "military aid to civil power".
Aside from the primary objective of guarding the border withIndia, the Rangers are also responsible for maintaining internal security inPakistan and serve as a majorlaw enforcement organization in the country. Despite this, they do not possess the power to make arrests like the regular police with the exception of when the state temporarily sanctions them with such an authority in times of extreme crisis.[citation needed] Their primary objective as an internal security force is to prevent and suppress crime by taking preventive security measures, cracking down on criminals and thwartingorganized crime with the use of major force.[citation needed] All suspects apprehended by the Rangers during a crackdown are later handed over to police for further investigation and possible prosecution when the chaos is brought under control. The same privileges are also temporarily granted by thegovernment to other security organizations such as theFrontier Corps for the same reasons.[citation needed]
The Rangers are also tasked with securing important monuments and guarding national assets in all major cities, includingIslamabad.
In the past, they have also served as prison guards for high-profile terrorists until they were withdrawn from such duties.[3]
The "lowering of the flags" ceremony at theAttari–Wagah border is a daily military practice that the security forces ofIndia (Border Security Force) andPakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959.[4] The drill is characterised by elaborate and rapid dance-like manoeuvres and raising legs as high as possible, which have been described as "colourful".[4] It is both a symbol of the two countries’ rivalry, and a display of brotherhood and cooperation between the two nations.
The origins of the Pakistan Rangers go back to 1942, when theBritish government established a special unit inSindh known as the Sindh Police Rifles (SPR) which was commanded by British Indian Army officers. The force was established to fight the rebellious groups in sindh as theBritish government was engaged inWorld War II. Headquarters of this force was established in Miani Lines Pacca Barrack,Hyderabad Cantonment.
After theindependence of Pakistan in 1947, the name of the force was changed from "Sindh Police Rifles" to "Sindh Police Rangers" and the protection of eastern boundaries with India was allotted to various temporary forces, such as the Punjab Border Police Force, Bahawalpur State Police, Khairpur State Police and Sindh Police Rangers.
Because the Rangers were neither correctly structured nor outfitted for a specific duty, on 7 October 1958 they were restructured and renamed to theWest Pakistan Rangers.[2] The Rangers fought alongside thePakistan Army in several conflicts, namely theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965 and theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971.[5]
In 1972, following theindependence ofEast Pakistan and Legal Framework Order No. 1970 by theGovernment of Pakistan, the force was officially renamed from the West Pakistan Rangers to the Pakistan Rangers and put under control of theMinistry of Defence with its headquarters atLahore.
In 1973, under the authority of thePakistan Army's Special Service Group (SSG), the Punjab Rangers andIslamabad Policeraided the Iraqi embassy in Islamabad after an intelligence report disclosed the presence of armaments and funds meant forBaloch insurgents from a jointIraqi-Soviet operation.
In 1974, the Rangers became part of theCivil Armed Forces under theMinistry of the Interior, where it has remained since.
In late 1989, due to growing riots and the worsening situation of law and order in the province of Sindh, a new force was raised for a strategicanti-dacoit operation. The paramilitary force operated under the name of theMehran Force and consisted of the then-existing Sindh Rangers command and three Army battalions (including from theNorthern Light Infantry). The Mehran Force was under the direct command of the Director General Rangers with a new headquarters inKarachi.
Following these events, the federal government substantially increased the strength of the Rangers and raised a separate corps headquarters in Sindh. On 1 July 1995 the Rangers were divided into two separate forces, the Punjab Rangers and theSindh Rangers. The Mehran Force and other paramilitary units operating in Sindh were merged into the Sindh Rangers.[6]
Due to their close association with the military, the Rangers also saw combat againstregular Indian troops during theKargil War of 1999 inKashmir.
| Pakistan Rangers song. | |
|---|---|
 Pakistan Rangers song |
In 2007, the Rangers alongside regular Pakistani soldiers and SSG commandos participated inOperation Silence against aJihadistprivate militia inIslamabad. The conflict started when, after 18 months of tensions between government authorities and Islamist militants, they attacked the Punjab Rangers guarding the nearbyMinistry of Environment building andset it ablaze and subsequently locked themselves inside theRed Mosque.[7]
Two years later, in 2009, the Rangers once again participated in a special military operation in Lahore alongside the SSG, when twelve terrorists operating for the Taliban attacked theManawan Police Academy inLahore. The operation ended with eight militants killed and four captured.[8] Later that year, theGovernment of Pakistan deployed the Punjab Rangers to secure the outskirts ofIslamabad when the Taliban had taken over theBuner,Lower Dir,Swat andShangla districts. Following these incidents, the Rangers participated in the Pakistan Army'sOperation Black Thunderstorm.[9]
The Rangers have also provided Special Police Units (SPUs) forvarious peacekeeping missions during theYugoslav Wars (United Nations Protection Force - Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina) and inHaiti (United Nations Stabilization Mission - Haiti).[6] SPUs are tasked with protection and security for UN officials, providing operational and backup support, responding to threats to public order, and assist various humanitarian agencies.[10] Other international peacekeeping operations have included theDemocratic Republic of the Congo andKosovo.[11][12]
Punjab Rangers have also been involved in various operations against bandits, gangs and terrorist networks embedded in Southern parts of the Pakistan's Punjab province. In the areas ofRajanpur District, Punjab Rangers have often been called in to aidPunjab Police against bandits. In April 2016, Rangers carried out successful small scale raids againstChotu gang in the Indus River Delta of Ranjanpur. Dacoits had been using Indus River Delta as their base for many years to carry out criminal activities across parts of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. Punjab Rangers in support from Punjab Police andPakistan Army launched joint operation codenamed as Operation Zarb-e-Ahan which lasted for about three weeks. Operation was highly successful in compelling bandits to surrender. As a result of active involvement of Punjab Rangers, the normalcy was restored in the strategic area Ranjanpur District, which connects three provinces of Pakistan.
Punjab Rangers have also been active against several sectarian and extremist groups in the parts of South Punjab. In 2016, the ambit ofOperation Zarb-e-Azb was expanded and it was decided that militant groups active in the regions of South Punjab would be targeted.[13] Since then, Punjab Rangers along withCounter Terrorism Department (Pakistan) have participated in the highly sophisticated scores of Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs) to dismantle terror networks. Resultantly, South Punjab has witnessed drastic improvement in its security environment.
The Rangers are led by a Director-General (DG) appointed by thePakistan Army, and usually holds the two-star rank ofmajor general. The DG Punjab Rangers WAS Major General Syed Asif Hussain until 2022 when Mohammad Qaddafi replaced him.[14][15]
The majority of the other officers come from the Army, however some Rangers can be inducted as direct-entry sub-inspectors. These officers can reach a maximum rank of Senior Superintendent Rangers (SSR) - roughly equivalent to the army rank oflieutenant colonel. Personnel joining as sepoys can reach a maximum rank of honorary DSR (Deputy Superintendent Rangers), which would be equivalent to an Army captain.
The force consists of about 16,100 Rangers,[5] divided into a number of smaller commands together with supporting units:[16]
Selection for the Punjab Rangers lasts between 2–3 weeks and both male and female citizens of Pakistan can join. Disregarding physical fitness standards, an applicant must be between 18 and 25 years old to qualify for entry. The educational standards is that the applicant must have passed with a degree in the Faculty of Arts (FA) or Faculty of Science (FSc), roughly equivalent to ahigh school diploma in theUnited States, from a government-registered college. After selection and training, a Ranger can be deployed to anywhere in Punjab province (or countrywide in times of crisis) orabroad if necessary, according to the Pakistan Rangers Act of 1959.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan Rangers |  |  |  |  | _Pakistan_Army.svg) | _Pakistan_Army.svg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Director general ڈائریکٹر جنرل | Senior superintendent of the Rangers سینئر سپرنٹنڈنٹ۔ | Superintendent of the Rangers سپرنٹنڈنٹ | Deputy superintendent of the Rangers ڈپٹی سپرنٹنڈنٹ۔ | Inspector انسپکٹر | Direct EntrySub inspector ڈائریکٹ انٹری سب انسپکٹر۔ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Junior commissioned officers | Non commissioned officer | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan Rangers |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior inspector سینئر انسپکٹر۔ | Inspector انسپکٹر | Sub inspector سب انسپکٹر۔ | Havildar حوالدار۔ | Naik نائیک۔ | Lance Naik لانس نائیک۔ | Sepoy سپاہی۔ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major General Hussain Mehdi | 2002 | 2007 | |
| Major GeneralHaroon Aslam | 2007 | 2008 | |
| Major General Muhammad Nawaz | 2008 | 2011 | |
| Major GeneralHilal Hussain | 2011 | 2013 | |
| Major General Ghayur Mehmood | 2013 | 2015 | |
| Major General Tahir Javed Khan | 2015 | 2015 | |
| Major General Umar Farooq Burki | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Major General Azhar Naveed Hayat | 2016 | 2018 | |
| Major GeneralSaqib Mehmood Malik | 2018 | 2020 | |
| Major General Aamir Majeed | 2020 | December 2021 | |
| Major General Syed Asif Hussain | Dec 2021 | September 2022 | |
| Major General Muhammad Qaddafi | Sept 2022 | December 2023 | |
| Major General Muhammad Atif Bin Akram | Dec 2023 | Incumbent |
Civil Armed Forces (Pakistan) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Frontier Corps |  | |
| Pakistan Rangers | ||
| Others | ||