JAMMU KASHMIR AND THE MILITARY

 Jammu and Kashmir has two Regiments named after the state, three actually


Two of Indian Army and one of Pakistan Army

INDIAN ARMY

Jammu Kashmir Rifles or Jak Rif was the erstwhile J&K State forces absorbed and regularised in the Indian Army.



Unlike other princely state forces that were disbanded or merged into various existing regiments, the J&K State Forces were kept intact. They were formally absorbed into the Indian Army in 1954 and redesignated as the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles or Jak Rif in 1956.

Jammu and Kashmir Militia was an irregular force which emerged during the 1948-1949 Kashmir war with Pakistan. Various Jammu and Kashmir domiciled officers and soldiers who were on leave in their homes organised local militias to fight the invading forces of Pakistan.

JAK militia for a very long time was under the ministry of defence and its funding and other logistics were paid from Home Ministry on book debit. JAK Militia was regularised after 1971 war and redesignated as Jammu And Kashmir Light Infantry or JAK LI regiment of the Indian Army.



Point to note here is that when some says "I am from 8 JAK" he means 8th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles or 8 Jak Rif and not 8th Battalion of Jammu And Kashmir Light Infantry or 8 JAK LI.

PS: I have the pleasant honour of having served with the 8th Battalion of Jammu And Kashmir Light Infantry or 8 JAK LI. I was a company commander and the then Subedar Bana Singh, PVC was in my company.




PAKISTAN ARMY

Azad Kashmir Regiment(AK) later designated as Azad Jammu Kashmir Regiment (AJK) was raised by the Govt of Pakistan in October 1947 as the Azad Kashmir Regular Forces (AKRF).



It was formed primarily from World War II veterans (mostly Sudhans and Muslims from the Poonch and Mirpur districts) who had served in the British Indian Army and J&K State Forces and then revolted against the Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh.

Much like how the Indian Army regularized the JAK LI after their performance in 1971, Pakistan formally absorbed the AKRF into its regular army structure in 1972 as Azad Kashmir Regiment(AK) later designated as Azad Jammu Kashmir Regiment (AJK) post 2010.

Based on our stated policy of not recognising Azad Kashmir or Azad Jammu Kashmir as a legitimate entity, we call them POK/POJK Regiment.

Another force worth mentioning here is Northern light infantry (NLI) which was involved in kargil war.


NLI is technically not part of Jammu and Kashmir as far as Pakistan is concerned. They are men taken from Gilgit-Baltistan and commanded by Regular Pakistan Army officers. They are more like Assam Rifles which is different from the Assam Regiment. Post 1999 Kargil war, NLI was regularised as a Pakistan Army infantry Regiment, while Assam Rifles continues to be a Para Military Force.
Unlike the AJK Regiment (which draws from across Pakistan now), the NLI remains heavily composed of personnel from Gilgit-Baltistan.
Gilgit Scouts, Skardu Scouts, Hunza Scouts are separate like we have Ladakh Scouts and Dogra Scouts.

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