Pashtun National Gendarmerie
The Pashtun National Gendarmerie is a paramilitary police service in Pashtunistan that is mainly responsible for policing rural areas, the border, and providing support to the Pashtun National Police. Established in 1970s as the "Internal Troops of Pashtunistan" by the communist government, it was modeled on the Internal Troops in the Soviet Union. The organisation was reformed into the National Gendarmerie in 1998 by the new government and then again in 2006, and has taken part in the Pashtun Civil War. Answering to the Ministry of Interior and of Justice, the Gendarmerie supports the National Army's counterinsurgency operations against Taliban factions as well as the work of the Border Police in certain areas. As of 2019 it includes about 45,000 personnel.
Structure
At the start of 1998, the National Gendarmerie was organised in a total of five divisions established by regions covering multiple provinces.
- 1st (Kabul) Division – Kabul, Ghazni, Bamyan
- 2nd (South) Division – Kandahar, Farrah
- 3rd (North) Division – Fayzabad, Balkh
- 4th (East) Division – Jalalabad, North Kalat, South Kalat
- 5th (West) Division – Herat
In 2006, these were dissolved and replaced by new formations known as Operational Commands, with a number of brigades, regiments, and other units subordinated to each command.
- Kabul Operations Command (Kabul)
- Southern Operations Command (Farrah)
- Northern Operations Command (Balkh)
- Eastern Operations Command (Peshawar)
Since the 2006 reform there are also units directly subordinated to the central command of the National Gendarmerie.