Orakzai Scouts Explained

Unit Name:Orakzai Scouts
Start Date:1972[1]
Country: Pakistan
Branch:Civil Armed Forces
Size:6 wings
Command Structure:Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North)
Garrison:Kalaya, Orakzai District
Garrison Label:Regimental centre
Battles:Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Commander1:Tasneem Khan[2]
Commander1 Label:Commandant
Commander2:Rai Kashif Amin[3]
Commander2 Label:Previous Commandant

The Orakzai Scouts is a paramilitary regiment forming part of the Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North) in Pakistan. The name alludes to the Orakzai tribe and the Orakzai Agency (now a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province). The regiment had a 2020/21 budget of [4] and is composed of a headquarters wing with six battalion-sized manoeuvre wings and a special operations group.

History

The regiment was raised in 1972.[1] The Scouts have been involved in anti-drug smuggling operations. In 2011-2012, the unit received a number of drug testing kits, through a United Nations programme, to assist in their work against drug smuggling.[5] One initiative in August 2021 saw the Scouts 235 Wing organise training to help farmers find alternatives to poppy cultivation such as mushroom farming.[6]

The regiment has been involved in combatting the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Shortly after the start of Operation Khyber by the Pakistani military, eight soldiers were killed in November 2014, when militants attacked a check post. Twenty militants were killed in an immediate counterattack by the regiment.[7]

In July 2019 members of the regiment helped rescue up to 47 injured people and retrieved the bodies of 8 children, after they became trapped in a collapsed house following a rainstorm.[8]

The regiment has also engaged in local culture recently. In partnership with provincial and local government bodies in March 2022, it organised a two-day local sports festival in Kalaya including a kabbadi competition.[3] [9] The Commandant attended a motoring event in December 2022.[2]

Units

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Making history: Orakzai Scouts to be permanently deployed . 10 December 2013 . The Express Tribune . 22 December 2022.
  2. Web site: Car, motorcycle rally held to promote peace . 11 December 2022 . The Nation . 22 December 2022.
  3. Web site: Two-day Orakzai Festival concludes . 21 March 2022 . Pakistan Observer . 22 December 2022.
  4. Web site: Federal Budget 2020–2021: Details of demands for grants and appropriations . 3 . 2540 . . 22 December 2022.
  5. Web site: Equipping Pakistan's Law Enforcement For Interdiction . 25 February 2011 . . 21 December 2022.
  6. Web site: KP govt starts mushroom cultivation to promote high-income, legal work . 21 August 2021 . Pakistan Today . 22 December 2022.
  7. Web site: Check post attacked: Eight troops, 20 militants killed in Orakzai clash . 2 November 2014 . The Express Tribune . 22 December 2022.
  8. Web site: Eight children among 14 killed in rain-related incidents in KP . 19 July 2019 . . 22 December 2022.
  9. Web site: Orakzai sports, culture festival concludes amid fun . 22 March 2022 . Daily Times . 22 December 2022.
  10. Web site: The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. . Government of Pakistan . 4 May 2020 . 12 December 2022.
  11. Web site: The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. . Government of Pakistan . 20 January 2021 . 15 December 2022.
  12. Web site: The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. . 116 . Government of Pakistan . 20 September 2019 . 11 December 2022.
  13. Web site: The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. . 659 . Government of Pakistan . 19 August 2020 . 12 December 2022.