Northern Light Infantry

The Northern Light Infantry (NLI) is a Light Infantry Regiment of the Pakistan Army. Headquartered in Gilgit, the capital of Northern Areas, Pakistan, 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.

The Northern Light Infantry (NLI) Regiment is based in northern Pakistan. Today the NLI Reget consists of 15x Reg units. The unit is not dominated by major ethnic groups like the Pashtuns or Punjabs and instead is comprised by a mix of men from the small tribes of the Kashmir region. The NLI sepoys are drawn from eight major ethnic groups: the Baltees, Shins, Yashkuns, Mughals, Kashmiris, Pathans, Ladakis and Turks who speak the dialects of Balti, Shina, Brushaki, Khawer, Wakhi, Turki, Pushto, Urdu and Persian. Of the NLI sepoys, 49 per cent are Shias and 18 per cent Sunnis, while the Ismailees and Noor Bakhshis make up 23 and 10 per cent respectively.Fifty-five per cent of the sepoys come from Gilgit while 35 per cent hail from Baltistan.

The NLI is deployed extensively in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir under the Force...
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