Furqan Force | |
Formation: | 1948 |
Founder: | Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad |
Status: | Defunct |
Region Served: | Dominion of Pakistan |
Leader Title: | Notable commanders |
Publication: | --> |
The Furqan Force or Furqan Battalion was a uniformed Battalion force of volunteers of the minority Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Dominion of Pakistan. Formed in June 1948[1] at the direction of Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, at the request of Pakistan government, the unit fought for Pakistan against India in the First Kashmir War.[2] In addition to its troops being drawn from the Ahmadiyya population, the expenses of maintaining the unit were also paid by that community.[3]
The unit was disbanded on 7 June 1950. Following the anti-Ahmadiyya Lahore riots of 1953, a Pakistani court of inquiry cited the Furqan Battalion in discussions of the Ahmadiyya role in Pakistani society.[4]