Chitral Scouts

Chitral Scouts
Band Party of Chitral Scouts
Active	1903-Present
Country	Pakistan
Branch	Frontier Corps
Type	Paramilitary
Garrison/HQ	Drosh Cantonment
Engagements	Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 Kargil War

The Chitral Scouts (CS) (Urdu: چترال سکاوٹس‎), also known as Chitral levies, originally raised in 1903 as the militia of the princely state of Chitral, is now a unit of the federally controlled Frontier Corps of Pakistan. Recruited mostly from the Chitral and Kalash Valleys areas along the western borders and led by officers from the Pakistan Army. The Frontier Corps of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa falls under the control of the Ministry of the Interior. Its headquarters is at Chitral town, and it is commanded by a Colonel of the Pakistan Army.

The Chitral Scouts have seven wings, each headed by army officers with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel or Major. Its role is to keep guard over Pakistan's western borders in peace-time and to assist the civil administration in maintaining law and order in the district of Chitral.

The Chitral Scouts were raised in 1903 in the princely state of Chitral on an initiative by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon of Kedleston. The word Scouts meant that the force was a militia, not part of the British Indian Army, and it was under the command of a Chief of Chitral, but with a British attached officer. The objective of the force was to provide soldiers for the defense of India's North-West Frontier in case of invasion. The corps had an initial strength of 1,200 men and aimed to recruit the trained cragsmen of Chitral, that is, experienced mountaineers. They were provided with Martini–Henry and Snider–Enfield rifels, ten rounds per rifle per Scout was the first line of ammunition. Pay and allowances of the Scouts were shared by the Political Agent and the Mehtar of Chitral Shuja ul-Mulk, who was also installed as the Honorary Commandant.