The Frontier Corps (reporting name:FC) (Urdu: فرنٹیئرکور) is a federal reserve military force under the command of the paramilitary command of Pakistan, recruited mostly from the tribal areas along the western borders and led by general officers of the Pakistan Army. The Frontier Corps comprises three major subdivisions: FC NWFP (stationed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (formerly known as North-West Frontier Province) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and FC Balochistan (stationed in Balochistan province). Each subdivision is headed by a seconded Inspector General, who is a Pakistan Army officer of at least major-general rank, although the force itself is under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry.
With a total manpower of approximately 80,000, the task of the Frontier Corps is to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and anti-smuggling operations. Recently, units of the Frontier Corps have been used in military operations against insurgents in Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
The Frontier Corps should not be confused with the Frontier Constabulary or the Frontier Force Regiment. The Frontier Constabulary is a federal paramilitary police force, mostly recruited from and operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but also operating in Punjab province. Since July 2002, the constabulary and the FC NWFP are being gradually merged. The Frontier Force Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army formed in 1956 from the amalgamation of three older regiments: the 12th Frontier Force Regiment, the 13th Frontier Force Rifles and the Pathan Regiment.
Read more about Frontier Corps: History, Organization
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