&w=3840&q=100)
Why Pakistan wants to use its border force inside the country. Think VIPs
Pakistan has converted its paramilitary force, Frontier Constabulary (FC), into a 'nationwide federal force'. The country's president reportedly promulgated an ordinance on Sunday (July 13), allowing the federal government to upgrade the force, which can now operate in all provinces and territories.
The Frontier Constabulary has been renamed the Federal Constabulary. The force will be responsible for maintaining law and order, supplementing the law enforcement agencies and meeting the diverse security needs of the South Asian country.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Let's take a closer look.
What was Frontier Constabulary?
The Frontier Constabulary (FC) comes under the Pakistan government, which can deploy it to any part of the country for 'better protection and administration of those areas'.
The border security force was governed by the Frontier Constabulary Act, 1915 and the North-West Frontier Constabulary Rules, 1958.
A former Pakistani interior secretary told Dawn that the Frontier Constabulary was first deployed in Karachi about 25 years ago. Later, the paramilitary force was sent to Islamabad and then Gilgit-Baltistan to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and major dam projects.
Last June, Pakistan briefly deployed the Frontier Constabulary in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) after it was rocked by protests.
Pakistani Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel escort the Shiite Muslim march in the Ashura procession in Quetta on October 12, 2016. File Photo/AFP
As per its website, FC guarded the border between the settled areas of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and its tribal areas against incursions and criminal gangs operating from across the border.
The FC has been operating in all provinces of Pakistan except Punjab. However, several of its platoons have been used for the security of sensitive installations and VVIPs in Punjab, reported The Express Tribune.
Pakistan revamps Frontier Constabulary
Pakistan's Law and Justice Division issued an official notification on Sunday after President Asif Ali Zardari promulgated the ordinance to transform the Frontier Constabulary into the Federal Constabulary.
'As the Senate and the National Assembly are not in session and the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action,' the Frontier Constabulary (Re-organization) Ordinance, 2025, read.
The Federal Constabulary will be used as a reserve force and tasked with specialised duties to help the Islamabad Capital Territory Police, provincial police forces, and other security and law enforcement forces and agencies.
The former interior secretary told the Pakistani newspaper that the ordinance has empowered the federal government to deploy the Federal Constabulary across the country for any purpose, citing security.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
As per the ordinance, the FC will be headed by an inspector general who will be appointed by the Pakistan government.
It will comprise two divisions – the Security Division and the Federal Reserve Division. The Security Division will include the current strength of the Frontier Constabulary and personnel appointed through the traditional system.
The FC's Federal Reserve Division will be dedicated to anti-riot and special protection.
The ordinance also moved all powers and assets of the Frontier Constabulary to the Federal Constabulary. It said, 'Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force all members and employees of the Frontier Constabulary serving in the defunct Frontier Constabulary immediately before the commencement of this ordinance, immediately after the commencement of this ordinance shall stands transferred to the Federal Constabulary reconstituted under this ordinance on same terms and conditions as applicable to them before commencement of this ordinance.'
The deployment of the Frontier Constabulary for VIP security often drew criticism. Now, the revamped force can be freely used for the personal security of the elite under the excuse of protecting the 'escort', noted Dawn.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Pakistan state broadcaster PTV previously reported that the FC will be deployed across all provinces, Islamabad, Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Candidates from across the country will be able to apply for the FC. Earlier, only youth from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were recruited, as per Samaa TV.
Why Pakistan has revised FC's role
Pakistan's move comes amid growing security challenges, especially in the wake of a rise in militant attacks in KP and Balochistan provinces, bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
The ordinance cited 'changing dynamics of national security, the increasing frequency of emergencies, natural disasters, civil unrest, and other emerging threats' to revamp FC, as per the Dawn report.
Security experts perceive it as a part of broader efforts to centralise and ramp up Pakistan's internal security infrastructure, PTV reported.
Pakistan has reported a surge in militant attacks in KP since a truce between Pakistan and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) collapsed in November 2022.
Pakistan has accused the Taliban-led Afghan government of not taking action against TTP militants, which it claims operate from Afghanistan. Kabul has denied the charge.
With inputs from agencies
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
6 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
All 3 Pahalgam attackers killed in Operation Mahadev, Home minister Amit Shah announces in Lok Sabha
Home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday made a big announcement in the Lok Sabha during the Operation Sindoor debate — that all three Pakistani terrorists who killed 26 people in the Pahalgam attack in April were eliminated in Operation Mahadev on July 28. Amit Shah speaking in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing parliamentary debate on Operation Sindoor and India's response to the Pahalgam terror attack.(Video gram/Sansad TV) He named Suleiman as the mastermind, and the two others' names as Afghan and Jibran. These were all top terrorists belonging to the Pak-based proscribed group Lashkar-e-Taiba, he said. Reports about Suleiman and two others having been killed had emerged after Operation Mahadev went into full swing near Srinagar on Monday. The extent of their involvement in the Pahalgam attack, however, was stated on Tuesday by Amit Shah in Parliament. Shah said their identities were confirmed as such by those who had already been arrested by the NIA for having sheltered them. 'They were shown the bodies, and they said 'these are the men involved in the Pahalgam attack',' Shah said. 'We were not convince by that alone. We had already carried out forensic tests of the bullet shells found at the attack spot. We took the guns seized from the terrorists killed in Operation Mahadev to the lab in Chandigarh overnight, where the ammunition matched. That confirmed their identities even further, and we were convinced,' he told the House. He said Operation Mahadev had begun 'the night of the attack', referring to the Pahalgam incident. On Monday, the encounter with terrorists began around 11 am when a joint team of the army, paramilitary and police detected terrorist activity in the Mulnar area of Harwan. Acting swiftly, the forces engaged the terrorists in an intense firefight, resulting in the deaths of the three heavily armed terrorists in the forested Lidwas area near Harwan, on the outskirts of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.


New Indian Express
6 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Congress MP Gogoi's Parliament speech proves he acts on behalf of Pakistan: Assam CM Himanta
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, alleging that his recent speech in Parliament 'proved beyond doubt' that he acts on behalf of Pakistan. Taking to X, Sarma wrote, 'Speech delivered by our MP from Jorhat in Parliament yesterday proved beyond doubt that he acts on behalf of Pakistan. His secret trip and close ties with the Pakistani establishment speak volumes.' The Chief Minister further claimed that Gogoi's wife and both children hold foreign citizenship, suggesting that the Congress leader 'can leave India any time.' 'He is a disgrace to Assam and a betrayal of our pride as proud Indians,' Sarma added.
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
6 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Rahul Gandhi to sponsor schooling of 22 kids orphaned by India-Pak conflict
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is reportedly set to adopt 22 children who lost their parents during the cross-border shelling between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the April 22 terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. According to a report in The Indian Express citing Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Ahmed Karra, Gandhi will bear the full educational expenses of these children, all of whom were orphaned during the Pakistani shelling in April and May this year. Karra reportedly said that the first instalment of financial assistance is expected to be released on July 30 to help the children continue their education without interruption. The aid, he added, will be provided until the children complete their graduation. Identification of beneficiaries During a visit to Poonch in May, Rahul had reportedly instructed local Congress leaders to compile a list of children affected by the shelling. A detailed survey followed, and names were finalised after cross-verification with official records to ensure the aid reaches eligible beneficiaries. Rahul Gandhi's visit to affected students The former Congress president had also visited the school of 12-year-old twins, Urba Fatima and Zan Ali, who were among the casualties of the shelling. In April and May 2025, cross-border shelling between India and Pakistan intensified following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam where 26 Hindu tourists were killed by terrorists. This led to cross-border escalation, causing several civilian casualties, including children.