Sindh Regiment

The Sindh Regiment (Sindhi: سنڌ ريجمينٽ‎, Urdu: سندھ رجمنٹ) (previously Sind Regiment) is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army established on 1 July 1980. The regiment takes its name from Sindh province in southern Pakistan. Prior to its formation there had been no regiment in the Pakistan Army specifically intended to recruit primarily from the Sindhi population. The regimental centre is located in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan.

Sindh Regiment
Sindhi: سنڌ ريجمينٽ‎ Urdu: سندھ رجمنٹ)
Regimental cap badge
Founded	1980
Country	Pakistan
Branch	Pakistan Army
Role	infantry
Size	34 battalions
Regimental centre	Hyderabad, Sindh
Battle honours	Kargil War
Commanders
Colonel-in-chief	General Nadeem Raza[1]
Colonel commandant	Lt General Sahir Shamshad Mirza[1]

History

Since independence in 1947, the Pakistan Army had been dominated by Punjabis, with as much as 77% of army personnel.^[2] A specific regiment was created to address concerns of underrepresentation of Sindhis.^[3][4] This was done by the transfer of eleven battalions from the Punjab Regiment and ten battalions from the Baloch Regiment. An additional seven battalions were raised in the period from 1988 to 1999 while another Baluch battalion was transferred in 1988. Further raisings between 2001 and 2019 brought total strength of the regiment to 33 battalions.

Uniform

The regimental badge depicts crossed Sindhi axes surmounted by the star and crescent appearing above a title scroll in Urdu. All ranks wear a cherry pink beret with a red plume hackle.

Commanders

Previous colonel-commandants of the regiment have included Lieutenant General Salim Haider, who has served as the commander of I (Strike) Corps, Mangla, and as the Master-General of Ordnance (MGO).^[5]At present, Fayyaz Hussain Shah is serving as the Colonel-Commadant of the regiment. Sahir Shamshad Mirza is the Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment.

Battle honours

The following battle honours are a representation of honours awarded to the battalions which form the regiment.

• Kargil War: 24th Battalion, Sindh Regiment participated in the War and Sepoy Fazl Aman was taken POW in the war and later repatriated.

Operational awards to individual members of the regiment include:

• 1 Nishan-e-Haider (posthumously to Karnal Sher Khan for actions in the Kargil War of 1999).^[6]
• 6 Sitara-e-Jurat^{[citation needed]}
• 12 Tamgha-i-Jurat (including four for actions in the Kargil War)^[7]

Non-operational awards include:

• 6 Sitara-e-Basalat^{[citation needed]}
• 28 Tamgha-e-Basalat^{[citation needed]}

Units

Raised pre-Independence 1st Battalion - Old 13 Baluch Regiment 2nd Battalion - Old 17 Baluch Regiment 3rd Battalion (Athra)[8][9] - Old 18 Baluch Regiment Raised in 1971 (Transferred in 1980) 4th Battalion (Sarmast) - Old 44 Punjab Regiment 5th Battalion<Albatal ref name="ppra2">"Public Tenders page 2". Public Procurement Regulatory Authority. Retrieved 8 December 2022.</ref>[10][11] - Old 45 Punjab Regiment: 21  6th Battalion (Qalandars) [12][13] - Old 46 Punjab Regiment 7th Battalion (Jafakash) 8th Battalion (Al Shawaz)[14] - Transferred from Punjab Regiment 9th Battalion (Saifullah) [15] - Transferred from Punjab Regiment 10th Battalion - Old 46 Baluch Regiment 11th Battalion (Tabbar)[16][17] - Old 48 Baluch Regiment 12th Battalion[16] - Old 49 Baluch Regiment 13th Battalion - Transferred from Punjab Regiment 14th Battalion (Rawan Dawan) - Transferred from Punjab Regiment 15th Battalion (Faateh) - Old 51 Punjab Regiment 16th Battalion - Old 51 Baluch Regiment 17th Battalion - Old 52 Punjab Regiment

18th Battalion (Yakjan) - Old 53 Punjab Regiment 19th Battalion (Sarbuland) - Old 52 Baluch Regiment 20th Battalion (Toofani) - Old 53 Baluch Regiment (Raised by Lt Col Mirza Aslam Beg in 1971. 21st Battalion[18] - Raised Post Amalgamation 22nd Battalion (Daler)[19][13][20] 23rd Battalion (Sholazan) - Transferred from Baluch Regiment in 1988 (Old 61 Baluch Regiment) 24th Battalion[19] 25th Battalion (al-Kaseeb)[19] 26th Battalion (Janbaz)[19][21]: 67  27th Battalion (Sher Haidri) - Parent battalion of Captain Karnal Sher, NH) 28th Battalion (Ghaurians) [22] - Raised 1999. 29th Battalion (Jeedar) 30th Battalion 31st Battalion 32nd Battalion[19] 33rd Battalion 34th Battalion

Affiliated units

• 5 Light Commando Battalion (Sindh)^[23][24]
• 40th Horse (Sind) armoured regiment^[25][26]

Alliances

• 1st Battalion with  British Army - The Rifles

Notable personnel

• Muhammad Qamar Abbas Rizvi, former officer, current member of Sindh Provincial Assembly.^[27]