Pro-Government Militias
Khasadar (Pakistan)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 629 |
| Country: | Pakistan |
| Date formed: | Aug. 14, 1947 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | day |
| Details of Formation: | The Khasadar can be traced back to the 19th century. While sources disagree on whether former Afghan King Nador Shah Durrani in 1849 or the British established the Khasadar, sources agree that the British used the Khasadar to act as police in their system of indirect rule. The Khasadar were very successful and after independence in 1947, the federal authorities decided to continue using the group. The date formed in 1974 refers to Pakistan’s independence. |
| Date dissolved: | Unknown |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | The Khasadar are still active in 2014. |
| Termination Type(s): | not terminated |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | yes |
| Former Armed Group? | yes |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | semi-official (type 2) |
| Created by the Government?: | no | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | state (institution) |
| If link to party, name of party: | None |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | no |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government; self-maintained; Foreign government |
| State Sponsor(s): | United States |
| Other Connection(s): | The group was financially supported by a fund made up partly of US money and the group also received training by US forces. |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ethnic; village/rural |
| Primary Membership: | local |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Afghan border region |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, unknown] |
| Target(s): | rebels, insurgents, or other armed group |
| Purpose(s): | protect national borders and integrity; self-defense and security |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | Pashtuns (Pakistan) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | given |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | The Khasadar is a tribal militia that consists of several local Pashtun tribes. The Khasadar are sometimes also spelled Khassadar. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The Khasadar’s main purpose is to provide security, in their region and along the border. The Khasadar are used by the governments to rule over the areas where tribes do not recognise the federal authority. They are considered to be successful in fulfilling their purpose. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | local presence |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | There is no evidence that the Khasadar mistreated civilians. One statement by former Khasadar commander Malik Khandan hints that the Khasadar aimed at protecting civilians from violence. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | unknown |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no |
| PGM Members Paid? | yes |
| Reasons for Membership: | Khasadars receive salaries and sometimes the government answers to requests by tribal authorities to invest in local infrastructure. However, the former Khasadar commander Malik Khandan stated that members were part of the Khasadar not so much because of money but that they stick to their deal with the government on their honour. |
| PGM Members Killed? | sometimes |
PGM Size
| Size: |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The Khasadar were armed with guns. A news source from 2002 mentions that the Khasadars were poorly trained. In 2007 the federal government decided to train the Khasadars in a better way and to provide them with modern weapons. In 2011, the federal government decided to impart the Khasadar with military training in order to counter a rise in extremism. This training ran under a program of the International Criminal Investigation of America and would take place at the Islamabas Police Academy. A news source from 2011 says that the Khasadars must provide their own weapons. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | The Khasadars are (nominally) answerable to the central government. They are employed by a local elder (‘malik’). Members receive their salaries from the tribal chiefs, who in turn receive money from the central government. Khasadars were accused of accepting bribes and allowing fellow ethnic Pashtun Taleban to cross the border illegally. Formally, they operate as part of a four-tier system with the Frontier Corps at the top, followed by the Frontier Constabulary, levies and Khasadar Force. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.