The
Pakistan Rangers are a pair of paramilitary federal law enforcement corps' in Pakistan. The two corps are the
Punjab Rangers and the
Sindh Rangers. There is also a third corps headquarters in Islamabad but is only for units transferred from the other corps for duties in the federal capital. They are both part of the Civil Armed Forces. The corps' operate administratively under the Pakistan Army but under separate command structures and wear distinctly different uniforms. However, they are usually commanded by officers on secondment from the Pakistan Army. Their primary purpose is to secure and defend the approximately 2,200 km (1,400 mi) long border with neighbouring India. They are also often involved in major internal and external security operations with the regular Pakistani military and provide assistance to municipal and provincial police forces to maintain law and order against crime, terrorism and unrest. In addition, the Punjab Rangers, together with the Indian Border Security Force, participate in an elaborate flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah−Attari border crossing east of Lahore.
The mutually-recognized India–Pakistan international border is different from the disputed and heavily militarized Line of Control (LoC), where the Pakistani province of Punjab adjoins Jammu and Kashmir and the undisputed international border effectively ends. Consequently, the LoC is not managed by the paramilitary Punjab Rangers, but by the regular Pakistan Army.