According to Jane's World Armies, the Mujahid Force, along with the Janbaz Force and the National Cadet Corps, composes part of the 180,000-strong Pakistan National Guard (December 2000). It reportedly has a force of 60,000 and is organized into battalions, with some light air defence capability (ibid.). According to the article, these groups "have some value in providing poorly trained but enthusiastic reinforcements for rear area units" (ibid.). As well, a document produced by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) in New Delhi, India, names the Mujahid Force, along with the Janbaz Force, the National Cadet Corps and the Women Guards as part of the Pakistan National Guard, which is listed as a paramilitary force numbering some 185,000 (n.d.).

According to a senior fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis in New Delhi who has written extensively on Pakistan's military, the Mujahid Force is a paramilitary unit based in Kashmir, Pakistan (1 Nov. 2001).

Several articles report on the presence of Mujahid battalions in Kashmir, including the 654 (Daily Excelsior 22 July 2000; ibid. 12 July 2000), the 655 (US House Republican Research Committee 1 Feb. 1993), the 640 (ibid. 14 Aug. 2000), the 815 and the 834 (Indian Express 7 Dec. 1998). A 1 February 1993 document produced by the US House Republican Research Committee's Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare reported that a brigadier in the Pakistan army had announced the decision to form a new battalion of Kashmiri youth to be attached to the 655 Mujahid Battalion of the Pakistan Army.

As well, several articles refer to the activities of the Mujahid Force outside of Kashmir, mainly in Punjab (Dawn 16 Dec. 2000; ibid. 30 July 2000; The Pakistan Newswire 7 Aug. 2001; Associated Press of Pakistan 24 March 2000; Business Recorder 24 March 2000; ibid. 5 Sept. 1999; HRW Oct. 2000, section VI).

A 15 December 2000 article reported that, as part of a move to curtail the rising crime rate in Lahore, the Mujahid Force had been assigned the duty of "watch and ward" and was to receive special training to reduce shop and road robbery (Dawn). The Mujahid Force, along with the Elite Police Force, and the Frontier and Punjab Constabulary was, reportedly, placed on patrolling duty in and around all the large city markets in Lahore (Business Recorder 5 Sept. 2000). A 7 August 2000 article reported that the Lahore district administration had made security arrangements to ensure a peaceful election and that the Mujahid Force would "continue to patrol on the city roads" (The Pakistan Newswire).

A 29 July 2000 Dawn article reported that six members of the Mujahid Force had been posted at the residence of the family of former president Sharif in Raiwind, Punjab reportedly to "ward off any law and order situation" that might occur leading up to a meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). In Islamabad, the Mujahid Force, along with several other groups including the Frontier Corps Balochistan, and the Pakistan Rangers, was reported to have participated in a Pakistan Day parade (Associated Press of Pakistan 24 Mar. 2000; Business Recorder 24 Mar. 2000).

As well, a October 2000 report published by Human Rights Watch reported that Siddiq-ul-Faroog, a former press secretary to Nawaz Sharif and chairman of the House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC), was being held by the Mujahid Battalion 886 in Karachi's Malir Cantonment.

No reference to the Mujahid Force's relationship with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and whether it can compel a member to serve in the ISI could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Associate Press of Pakistan. 24 March 2000. "Spectacular Free-fall, Display of Shaheen II, Hatf 4, Police Parade Hallmarks of Pak-Day Parade." http://www.fas.org/news/pakistan/2000/000324-pak-1pp3.htm [Accessed 8 Nov. 2001]

Business Recorder [Karachi]. 5 September 2000. "Peaceful Countrywide Strike Held Against Sales Tax." htttp://www.brecorder.com/story/S00CC/SCI05/SCI05423.htm [Accessed 8 Nov. 2001]

_____. 24 March 2000. "Pakistan Day Celebrated." http://www.brecorder.com/story/S00DD/SDC24/SDC24163.htm [Accessed 8 Nov. 2001]

Dawn [Karachi]. 15 December 2000. "Cops with Political Strings to Go." (Internet edition 16 Dec. 2000) http://www/dawn.com/2000/12/16/nat12.htm [Accessed 29 Oct. 2001]

_____. 29 July 2000. "Police Posted at Sharifs' Residences." (Internet edition 30 July 2000) http://dawn.com/2000/07/30/top4.htm [Accessed 26 Oct. 2001]

Daily Excelsior [Janipura]. 22 July 2000. "3 Pakistanis Gunned Down; Several Hurt in Sunderbani." http://dailyexcelsior.com/00July23/news.htm [Accessed 8 Nov. 2001]

_____. 14 August 2000. "Capt Suri Gets Maha Vir Chakra Posthumously." http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/00aug15/news.htm [Accessed 8 Nov. 2001]

_____. 12 July 2000. Avtar Bhat. "Body of Pak Sepoy Handed Over." http://dailyexcelsior.com/00july13/news.htm [Accessed 8 Nov. 2001]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). October 2000. Reform or Repression? Post-Coup Abuses in Pakistan. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/pakistan/pakio09-03.htm#P216_37065 [Accessed 8 Nov. 2001]

Indian Express. 7 December 1998. Vikram Jit Singh. "Pak Sends in Armymen to Guide J&K Militants." http://www.indian-express.com/ie/daily/19981208/34250084.html [Accessed 8 Nov. 2001]

Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, New Delhi. 1 November 2001. Correspondence with Senior Fellow.

Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS). New Delhi. n.d. Military Balance in South Asia: Pakistan. http://www.ipcs.org/projects/mil-data/mil-pak.htm [Accessed 8 Nov. 2001]

Jane's World Armies [Surrey]. December 2000. "Pakistan." p. 573.

The Pakistan Newswire. 7 August 2001. "City: Strict Security Arrangements for Polling." (Pakistan Press International/NEXIS)

US House Republican Research Committee's Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare. 1 February 1993. Terrorist Training Camps in Pakistan and Revelations by Terrorists: Indian and Foreign Sources. http://www.india-emb.org.eg.Section%207E/English3.html [Accessed 8 Nov. 2001]

IRB databases

Jane's Intelligence Review

LEXIS/NEXIS

Oral sources:

Unsuccessful attempts to contact one academic source

One academic source was unable to provide information

Internet sites, including:

BBC

CNN

Dawn

Frontier Post

International Relations and Security Network

News International

Pakistan Daily

Pakistan News Service

UN News

World News Connection

Search engines:

Lycos

Google

Rediff
Note: This list is not exhaustive. Country or region-specific publications available at the Resource Centre are not included.