Sub-units of the Frontier Force Regiment

The Frontier Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army consists of battalions with their own history. Most were formed after independence, but some are much older.

They are known as Piffers in reference to the former Punjab Irregular Force (PIF) formed by the British in 1851. The PIF consisted of five regiments of cavalry, eleven regiments of infantry and five batteries of artillery besides the Corps of Guides. Their mission was to maintain order on the Punjab Frontier. Most of them were allotted to Pakistan at the time of the independence of Pakistan. Only the 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), and the 2nd Derajat and 4th (Hazara) Mountain Batteries went to India. The present Piffers include the Frontier Force Regiment, seven armoured regiments and The First (SP) Medium Regiment Artillery of Pakistan Army.

Frontier Force Regiment Battalions

Since formation in 1956, the battalions have been known officially by their ordinal number followed by the legend "FF". However, since many of the original fifteen battalions were from prior regiments, they were raised under different names, which are indicated. In some cases the battalion may be better known by the original name or nickname. 2 FF for instance is known better as "Guides Infantry" after the fact it was drawn from the infantry component of the Corps of Guides when that unit was disbanded. 11 FF was “1 Pathan” and members of 15 FF, still call their battalion, "2 Pathan" which was the designation the battalion had as a unit of the Pathan Regiment.

PIFFER Units

Unit	Raised As	Raising Day	Place of Raising	Raised by	Motto
1 FF (Garbar Unath)(MIB) [1]	Scinde Camel Corps	December 1, 1843	Karachi	Lt Robert Fitz Gerald	Ready Aye Ready
2 FF(MIB)	Corps of Guides	December 14, 1846	Mardan	Lt Harry Burnett Lumsden	Rough & Ready
3 FF (MIB)	1st Regiment of Infantry, the Frontier Brigade / 1st Sikh Local Infantry	December 10, 1846	Hoshiarpur	Capt J S Hodgson	Ekwanja
4 FF(MIB)	2nd Regiment of Infantry, the Frontier Brigade / 2nd (Hill Regiment) Sikh Local Infantry	December 22, 1846	Kangra	Capt James William Stephen	Tunpur Bawanja
5 FF [2] : 130	3rd Regiment of Infantry, the Frontier Brigade / 3rd Sikh Local Infantry	January 1, 1847	Ferozpur	Capt F Winter	Tirwanja
6 FF	4th Regiment of Infantry, the Frontier Brigade / 4th Sikh Local Infantry	December 14, 1846	Ludhiana	Capt Colin Mackenzie	Shabbir's Battalion, Chor Charwanja
7 FF(MIB)	1st Punjab Infantry (Coke Paltan)	May 18, 1849	Peshawar	Capt John Coke	Chattak Pachwanja
8 FF (Bhaiband)(MIB)	2nd Punjab Infantry, 56 Frontier Force Rifles, 2/13 Frontier Force Rifles. (Johnston Ki Paltan)	April 2, 1849	Mianwali	Lt J. C. Johnston	Bhaiband Chhewanjah
9 FF(MIB) [3]	4th Punjab Infantry (Denniss Ki Paltan)	April 19, 1849	Lahore	Capt George Gladwin Denniss [4]	Barhe Challo, Sust Satwanja
10 FF (Dastoori 58)(MIB)	5th Punjab Infantry (Vaughan Ki Paltan)	March 1, 1849	Layyah	Capt James Eardley Gastrell [5]	Fattah Ya Shahadat
11 FF (MIB) [6] [7]	11th Territorial Bn 12th Frontier Force Regiment	March 11, 1922	Nowshera	Sir John Loader Meffay	Fast & Furious
12 FF [2] : 130	11th Territorial Bn 13th Frontier Force Rifles	March 12, 1922	Campbellpore	Lt Sher Muhammad	Warriors
13 FF(MIB)	8th Bn 12th Frontier Force Regiment	April 1, 1941	Bareilly	Lt Col J. E. Redding
14 FF(MIB) [8]	9th Bn 12th Frontier Force Regiment	April 1, 1941	Jhansi	Lt Col J. A. Blood	NAUBARA
15 FF(MIB) [9]	14th Bn 13th Frontier Force Rifles	April 1, 1941	Jhansi	Lt Col A. Felix Williams	Fighting Fifteen
16 FF [10]	16th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	September 12, 1965	Abbottabad	Lt Lt Col Qazi Abdul Majid Khan
17 FF	17th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	September 12, 1965	Abbottabad	Lt Col Iftikhar Ahmed Rana	Aik Saath
18 FF	18th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	September 19, 1965	Abbottabad	Lt Col Ghous Muhammad Malik	Old and Bold
19 FF	19th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	September 26, 1965	Abbottabad	Lt Col Muhammad Ayub Afridi	PIFFER Tigers
20 FF(MIB)	20th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	October 1, 1965	Abbottabad	Lt Col Anwar ul Haq	Tayyar Har Dam Tayyar
21 FF [11] [12] : 67	21st Bn Frontier Force Regiment	October 1, 1965	Abbottabad	Lt Col Nur ul Haq	Khail Ullah's
22 FF [13]	22nd Bn Frontier Force Regiment	October 23, 1965	Shinkiari	Lt Col Tariq Muhammad Mir	Janbaz
23 FF	23rd Bn Frontier Force Regiment	October 25, 1965	Abbottabad	Lt Col Mir Ijaz Mehmood (SJ)	Jarrar
24 FF	24th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	November 22, 1965	Abbottabad	Lt Col Muhammad Akbar Khan	Al Badar
25 FF [14]	25th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	November 22, 1965	Abbottabad	Lt Col Muhammad Safdar Iqbal	Lajawab
26 FF(MIB)	26th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	November 22, 1965	Abbottabad	Lt Col Abdullah Saeed	Khaara Shagaaf
27 FF	27th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	January 22, 1966	Abbottabad	Lt Col Luqman Mehmood
28 FF	28th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	February 23, 1966	Abbottabad	Lt Col Hayat Ullah	God and Our Bayonets
29 FF(MIB)	29th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	November 30, 1966	Abbottabad	Lt Col Ghulam Hussain	ZARB-E-HADEED
30 FF(MIB)	30th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 10, 1969	Abbottabad	Major Abdul Shakoor Jan (SJ)	Dhulloi Tigers
31 FF [15]	31st Bn Frontier Force Regiment	October 15, 1970	Lahore	Lt Col Jahan Gul	Karrar
32 FF	32nd Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 1, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Rahmatullah Khan	Al Jannisar
33 FF	33rd Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 8, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Feroz Alam Khan	Chhamb Battalion
34 FF [16]	34th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 1, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Khalid Manzoor Khan	Raiders
35 FF [17]	35th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 19, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Muhammad Akram Raja (HJ)	Charging Bulls
36 FF(MIB)	36th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 19, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Murad Khan Nayyar	Volunteers
37 FF	37th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 10, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col C. K. Shinwari	Al Barq
38 FF	38th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 28, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Saeed Ullah Khan	Sangi
39 FF [18]	39th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	October 11, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Ijaz Ahmed	Fit & Fine
40 FF [19]	40th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	October 11, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Imran Ullah Khan	shooter's
41 FF [20] [21]	41st Bn Frontier Force Regiment	December 6, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Muhammad Akram	Zarb-e-Haider
42 FF [22]	42nd Bn Frontier Force Regiment	December 7, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Muhammad Iqbal	Zulfikaar
43 FF [23]	43rd Bn Frontier Force Regiment	December 9, 1971	Abbottabad	Lt Col Muhammad Ajmal	Allah Hoo
44 FF	44th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	March 1, 1972	Karachi	Lt Col Z. S. Usmani	Fighting Four
45 FF	45th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	February 15, 1983	Havelian	Lt Col Muhammad Mohsin	Saf Shikan
46 FF	46th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	September 1, 1983	Abbottabad	Lt Col Khan Adeeb Ahmed Umarzai	Sher-E-Yazdan
47 FF [24]	47th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	March 9, 1985	Havelian	Lt Col Javed Iqbal Khan	Jeedar
48 FF [10]	48th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 11, 1985	Abbottabad	Lt Col Muhammad Arif Bangash	Paish Rau
49 FF [25]	49th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 9, 1988	Kohat	Lt Col Abdul Rashid Malik	Farz Shanas
63 FF(MIB) [26]	53rd Bn Frontier Force Regiment	January 10, 1991	Abbottabad	Lt Col Hikmatullah Khan Khattak	TRAITH TARWANJA - SHAIR KA PANJA
64 FF (Churanja Chaunth)	54th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	April 2, 1994	Quetta	Lt Col Rashid Ali Bangash	"ZABARDAST"
65 FF [27]	55th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	March 30, 1994	Malakand	Lt Col Inayat Ullah Khan Niazi	Taza Dam
66 FF	66th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	2015	Abbottabad		Audacious "One Bullet One Foe "
67 FF(MIB)	67th Bn Frontier Force Regiment	2015	Karachi		Muktasar
68 FF (MIB)	68th Bn Frontier Force Regiment
69 FF	69th Bn Frontier Force Regiment
70 FF	70th Bn Frontier Force Regiment

Affiliated units

These units are separate from but linked to the Frontier Force Regiment.

Unit	Raising Day	Place of Raising	Raised by	Motto
Guides Cavalry	December 14, 1846	Peshawar	Lt H. B. Lumsden
11 Cavalry (FF)	May 18, 1849	Peshawar	Lt H. D. Daly
12 Cavalry (FF)	April 15, 1849	Lahore	Lt S. J. Browne
23 Cavalry (FF)	June 4, 1962	Kharian	Lt Col Ghulam Muhammad Khan
24 Cavalry (FF)	June 7, 1962	Lahore	Lt Col Muhammad Afzal Khan	Charging 24
25 Cavalry (FF)	June 9, 1962	Kharian	Lt Col Nisar Ahmad Khan	Men of Steel
41 Horse (FF)	October 24, 1982	Kharian	Lt Col Zia ul Ghaffar
The First (SP) Medium Regiment, Artillery (FF)	April 10, 1826	Peshawar/Bannu	Capt Brougham / Lt Hammond	Pur Azam Ba Waqar
9 Light Commando Battalion (FF) [22]

Footnotes

1. "The Frontier Force Regiment, Pakistan Army". Allied Regiments. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
2. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
3. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II. Notifications issued by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Defence Production" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 9 September 2020. p. 492. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
4. Quarterly Indian Army List January 1919, p.1251; Correspondence of Lt.Col. G.G.Denniss(1821–1862), 1st European Bengal Fusiliers, Ed. P.Chantler, South Molton, Devon, UK, 2010.
5. 13th Native Bengal Infantry Regiment, Lt.Col. by 1865. Applied for cadetship in EIC Armies 1833/4
6. Tariq, Sardar Muhammad; Raja, Asif Jehangir. "Spirits Rekindled – Joint Staff Pakistan Day Parade - 2015". Hilal: The Pakistan Armed Forces Magazine. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
7. Hussain, Naveed (10 September 2022). "Untold tales from the battlefront". The Express Tribune . Retrieved 11 December 2022. Captain Asfandyar Bokhari of the 11 Frontier Force Regiment
8. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 1 April 2020. p. 152. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
9. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 27 January 2021. p. 21. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
10. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 11 August 2021. p. 419. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
11. "In the news: Pakistan: India's Modi greets PM on Pakistan Day". Pakistan & Gulf Economist. 27 March 2017.
12. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
13. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 21 April 2021. p. 108. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
14. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 25 November 2020. p. 586. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
15. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 5 February 2020. p. 113. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
16. Tariq, Sardar Muhammad; Raja, Asif Jehangir. "Spirits Rekindled – Joint Staff Pakistan Day Parade - 2015". Hilal: The Pakistan Armed Forces Magazine. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
17. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 19 May 2021. p. 192. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
18. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 3 June 2020. p. 201. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
19. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 14 October 2020. p. 550. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
20. Iqbal, M. Javed. "Long Live Pakistan: Joint Services Pakistan Day Parade 23rd March 2019". Hilal: The Pakistan Armed Forces Magazine. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
21. Hussain, Naveed (10 September 2022). "Untold tales from the battlefront". The Express Tribune . Retrieved 11 December 2022. temporarily attached with 41 Frontier Force Regiment
22. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 28 April 2021. p. 111. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
23. Arshad Qureshi, Hakeem (2002). The 1971 Indo-Pak War: A Soldier's Narrative. USA: Oxford University Press. p. 262. ISBN   978-0195797787.
24. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 1 January 2020. p. 1. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
25. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 23 September 2020. p. 505. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
26. Aslam, Mahmood. "Memories of Sacrifices of a Few; and Many!". Hilal: The Pakistan Armed Forces Magazine. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
27. "The Gazette of Pakistan. Part II" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. 7 April 2021. p. 98. Retrieved 16 December 2022.

See also

• Punjab Irregular Force
• Frontier Force Regiment