National Guards Act, 1973

This 1973 act establishes and disciplines Pakistan's National Guards, which under Section 3 originally consisted of up to four forces but, per the extracted text and its amendment footnotes, now comprises two: the Mujahid Force and the Janbaz Force (a National Cadet Corps and Women Guards were provided for in Chapters V and VI but those chapters have since been omitted from the act).

Chapter II covers the Mujahid Force: Section 5 authorises raising and maintaining it, Section 6 lets the Federal Government constitute, disband, or reconstitute its units, and Section 7 lists its personnel classes — officers, junior commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, and ordinary Mujahids. Section 8 allows any male citizen of Pakistan of a prescribed age to volunteer for enrolment, and Section 9 governs transfers between units. Chapter III sets out equivalent provisions for the Janbaz Force (Sections 10-14), which is organised by province, division, or district rather than nationally.

Chapter IV contains provisions common to both forces: Section 15 covers liability for military training, Section 16 liability to perform embodied service, Section 18 applies the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 to enrolled personnel, Section 20 deems persons subject to the act to be part of the Pakistan Army, and Section 21 exempts them from local taxation. Section 23 allows extension of the prescribed age limit, and Section 24 protects the reinstatement rights of persons called up for training or service.

Chapter VII contains miscellaneous provisions: Section 38 bars employers from preventing an employee from enrolling, Section 39 lets the Federal Government make rules (covering enrolment periods, transfers, remuneration, discharge conditions, and medical examinations), and Section 40 lets the Chief of the Army Staff make regulations on organisation, training, pay, and pensions. This is an older act, last shown as updated to December 2022, and has been amended several times, including by a 1975 amending act and a 2002 amending ordinance that removed the National Cadet Corps and Women Guards chapters — so current force structure and rules should be checked against up-to-date sources.