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{{Short description|Pakistani paramilitary force}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2013}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use Pakistan English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Khyber Rifles
| native_name =
| image = Khyber Rifles hat badge.jpg
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| start_date = 1878
| disbanded =
| country = {{flag|British Raj}} 1878–1947<br/>{{flag|Pakistan}} (1947 onwards)
| allegiance =
| branch = [[Civil Armed Forces]]
| type =
| role =
| size = [[battalion|7 Wings]]
| command_structure = [[Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North)]]
| garrison = [[Shagai Fort]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.khyber.org/pictures/a/Forts_of_Pashtunkhwa.shtml|title = Forts of Pashtunkhwa}}</ref>
| garrison_label = Regimental centre
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The '''Khyber Rifles''' are a paramilitary regiment, forming part of the [[Pakistan]]i [[Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North)]]. The Rifles are tasked with defending the border with [[Afghanistan]] and assisting with law enforcement in the districts adjacent to the border. Raised in the late nineteenth century, the regiment provided the title and setting for the widely read novel, ''[[King of the Khyber Rifles]]'', and is the oldest regiment of the Corps. The regiment has a 2020/21 budget of {{PKR|1.816 billion|link=yes}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://na.gov.pk/uploads/1591967197_724.pdf |title=Federal Budget 2020–2021: Details of demands for grants and appropriations |volume=3 |page=2535 |publisher=[[National Assembly of Pakistan]] |access-date=19 December 2022}}</ref> and is composed of seven battalion-sized wings.

==History==
[[File:A member of the Khyber Rifles.jpg|thumb|A member of the Khyber Rifles, 1946.]]
During the period of [[British Raj|British rule]], the Khyber Rifles was one of eight "Frontier Corps" or paramilitary units recruited from the tribesmen of the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North West Frontier]], serving as auxiliaries for the regular [[British Indian Army]]. Raised in the early 1880s as the '''Khyber Jezailchis'''; (a [[jezail]] being a type of home made [[musket]]), the Khyber Rifles recruited from [[Afridi (Pashtun)|Afridi]] tribesmen, with British commanders seconded from regular [[British Indian army]] regiments. [[Viceroy's commissioned officer|Subordinate officers]] were Afridis. The first commandant was Sir [[Robert Warburton]], son of an Anglo-Irish soldier Robert Warburton of the Bengal Artillery and his wife Shah Jehan Begum, an [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] princess. Sir Robert remained the commandant until his retirement in 1899. His deputy, Colonel Sir Aslam Khan Sadozai, the first [[Muslim]] commandant, succeeded him. Then, the deputy to Colonel Sir Aslam Khan Sadozai was Malik Afridi Khan of Mulazai. Although the deputy, Malik Afridi Khan spent most of his time as the acting in charge of the Khyber Rifles due to the extensive leave of Sir Aslam.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924020369108/page/n207|title=Eighteen years in the Khyber|last=Warburton|first=Sir Robert|year=1900}}</ref>[[File:Khyberrifles.jpg|thumb|250px|An officer of the Khyber Rifles giving orders to his [[sepoy]]s in 1895.]]

===19th Century campaigns===
The regiment saw active service in the [[Hazara Expedition of 1888|Black Mountain expeditions]] of 1888 and 1891, during a period when the Khyber Pass itself remained peaceful. In August 1897 however, the Khyber Afridi tribes rose and the three forts garrisoned by the Khyber Rifles were overrun, the survivors falling back to [[Jamrud]]. It took four months and forty-four thousand troops for the British to retake the Khyber Pass. The Khyber Rifles were reconstituted and resumed their garrisons at [[Landi Kotal]], [[Fort Maude]] and [[Ali Masjid]].
[[File:Khyber Rifles.jpg|thumb|right|Khyber Rifles. Watercolour by Maj AC Lovett, 1910.]]

===Disbandment and re-establishment===
During the [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]] (1919), the loyalty of the Khyber Rifles was put under heavy strain and there were a number of desertions. The regiment was therefore disbanded as unreliable. Of the serving personnel 1,180 opted to be discharged, while smaller numbers transferred to a military police battalion or were formed into a newly raised Khyber Levy Corps.<ref>John Gaylor: "Sons of John Company - the Indian & Pakistan Armies 1903–1991" page 310; {{ISBN|0-946771-98-7}}</ref>

The Khyber Rifles was however reconstituted from [[Afridi]] veterans of [[World War II]] in 1946, with its headquarters at Landi Kotal. The commander of the reborn regiment was himself an Afridi, Sharif Khan.

[[File:Shagai Fort 02.jpg|thumb|[[Shagai Fort]], headquarters of the Khyber Rifles.]]
In August 1947, upon partition, the Khyber Rifles and the other Frontier Corps regiments were transferred to Pakistan. In addition to its traditional policing duties in the tribal areas of the Khyber region, the Khyber Rifles provided detachments to serve in [[Kashmir]] and [[East Pakistan]]. The regiment is currently involved in tracking down fugitives and terrorists.

==Locations==
The headquarters of the Khyber Rifles were at [[Landi Kotal]]. Its prime role was to guard the [[Khyber Pass]]. The three main garrisons of the regiment were Landi Kotal, at the western end of the Pass, [[Fort Maude]] to the east, and [[Ali Masjid]] in the centre.

==Insignia and uniform==
The badge of the Corps comprised two crossed Afghan daggers with the words KHYBER above and RIFLES below.

While the Indian Army as a whole was noted for its colourful and elaborate dress uniforms prior to 1914, the various units of the Frontier Corps wore only plain [[khaki drill]] uniforms and [[turban]]s.

==Units==
* Headquarters Wing
* 101 Wing<ref name=gazette20200504>{{cite web |url=http://pcp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/Issue-37%20Dated%2009-09-2020.pdf |title=The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. |publisher=Government of Pakistan |date=4 May 2020 |access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref>{{rp|732}}
* 102 Wing<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pcp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/Issue-34%20Dated%2019-08-2020.pdf |title=The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. |publisher=Government of Pakistan |date=19 August 2020 |access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref>{{rp|661}}
* 103 Wing<ref name=gazette20210310>{{cite web |url=http://pcp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/Issue-9%20Dated%2026-02-2020.pdf |title=The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. |publisher=Government of Pakistan |date=10 March 2021 |access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref>{{rp|142}}
* 104 Wing<ref name=gazette20210120>{{cite web |url=http://www.pcp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/Issue-3%20Dated%2020-01-2021.pdf |title=The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. |publisher=Government of Pakistan |date=20 January 2021 |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref>{{rp|45}}
* 105 Wing<ref name=gazette20200204>{{cite web |url=http://pcp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/Issue-25%20Dated%2017-06-2020.pdf |title=The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. |publisher=Government of Pakistan |date=4 February 2020 |access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref>{{rp|515}}
* 106 Wing<ref name=gazette20200504/>{{rp|731}}
* 107 Wing<ref name=gazette20210120/>{{rp|45}}
* Field Battery<ref name=gazette20210120/>{{rp|47}}

==See also==
{{Commons category}}
* [[King of the Khyber Rifles]] (1919 novel)
* [[Shagai Fort]]
* [[Civil Armed Forces]]
* [[Law enforcement in Pakistan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Chevenix, Charles. "Frontier Scouts". Cape, London 1985

==External links==
* [https://vdocuments.mx/journey-to-khyber-rifles-by-lt-col-faheememon.html Journey to Khyber Rifles: Commandant's Diary 2005-2008]

{{Frontier Corps}}
[[Category:Khyber Rifles|*]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of British India]]
[[Category:Regiments of the Frontier Corps]]

Khyber Rifles - Revision history

Bot at 19:38, 23 December 2022