Northern Light Infantry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Northern Light Infantry (NLI) is a Light Infantry Regiment of the Pakistan Army. Headquartered in Skardu, the capital of Baltistan, it is the main force protecting the strategically important northern areas of Pakistan. The majority of this regiment's personnel come from native Gilgitis, Baltis, Brushos, Wakhis and Khowars. It was formed in 1971 with the amalgamation of the Northern Scouts along with its Scout wings: the Karakoram Scouts, Northern Scouts and Gilgit Scouts.

The Northern Light Infantry was made a regular regiment of the Pakistan army after its performance in the Kargil War in 1999; prior to this it was a paramilitary force. During the conflict, the NLI earned two Nishan-e-Haiders, Pakistan's highest military decoration.

The current colonel commandant of the Northern Light Infantry Regiment is Lt General Mohsin Kamal, who is the current commander, X Corps, Rawalpindi and former commander Force Command Northern Areas (FCNA), Gilgit. He was installed on 30 April 2008 by the the former colonel commandant Lt General Safdar Hussain, former commander XI Corps, Peshawar.^[1]