Mahsud Scouts
{{Short description|Pakistani paramilitary unit}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2022}}
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{{Use Pakistan English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Mahsud Scouts
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| country = {{flag|Pakistan}}
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| branch = Civil Armed Forces
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| size = 4 wings
| command_structure = Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North)
| garrison = Fort Salop, Bara, Khyber District
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| commander1 = Colonel Ahmed Madni
| commander1_label = Commandant
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The Mahsud Scouts is a paramilitary regiment forming part of the Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North) in Pakistan.{{cite web |url=http://www.pcp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/Issue-6%20Dated%2005-02-2020.pdf |title=The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. |page=116 |publisher=Government of Pakistan |date=20 September 2019 |access-date=11 December 2022}} The name alludes to the Mahsud tribe of South Waziristan. The regiment had a 2020/21 budget of {{PKR|1.89 billion|link=yes}}{{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=2537 |publisher=National Assembly of Pakistan |access-date=21 December 2022}} and is composed of a headquarters wing with four battalion-sized manoeuvre wings.
History
The regiment was raised in 1944 and were then split into two units: 1st and 2nd Mahsud Scouts. They were also known as the First and Second Mahsud Battalions.{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kyk-AQAAIAAJ |title=The All Pakistan Legal Decisions |volume=11 |page=196 |date=1959 |editor=Abdul Hamid (kazi), Mohammad Ashraf |access-date=23 December 2022}} The 1st Scouts became the Maiwand Rifles and the 2nd Scouts dropped the number from their name. The Scouts have also been involved in anti-drugs 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan/Precursors_report_25_feb_2011.pdf |title=Equipping Pakistan's Law Enforcement For Interdiction |date=25 February 2011 |publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime}}
Units
- Headquarters Wing
- 162 Wing{{cite web |url=http://www.pcp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/Issue-34%20Dated%2019-08-2020.pdf |title=The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. |page=659 |publisher=Government of Pakistan |date=19 August 2020 |access-date=21 December 2022}}
- 164 Wing{{cite web |url=http://www.pcp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/Issue-6%20Dated%2005-02-2020.pdf |title=The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. |page=117 |publisher=Government of Pakistan |date=20 September 2019 |access-date=11 December 2022}}
- 165 Wing{{cite web |url=http://pcp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/Issue-37%20Dated%2009-09-2020.pdf |title=The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. |page=732 |publisher=Government of Pakistan |date=4 May 2020 |access-date=12 December 2022}}
- 166 Wing{{cite web |url=http://pcp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/Issue-9%20Dated%2026-02-2020.pdf |title=The Gazette of Pakistan. Part III. |page=238 |publisher=Government of Pakistan |date=26 February 2020 |access-date=12 December 2022}}