Northern Light Infantry The Northern Light Infantry ( reporting name : NLI ) is a light infantry regiment in the Pakistan Army , based and currently headquartered in Gilgit , the capital of Gilgit – Baltistan . Along with many unified armed forces presence in the Northern Areas , the NLI has the primary ground operations responsibility of protecting the strategically important northern areas of Pakistan . The majority of this regiment ' s personnel come from native Gilgiti s , Baltis , Brusho s , Wakhis and Khowar s . 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 - Administered Kashmir under the Force Commander Northern Areas ( FCNA ) and forms the bulk of the battalions under the Minimarg - based 80 Infantry Brigade , the Skardu - based 62 Infantry Brigade and the 323 Infantry Brigade at Siachen . The Northern Light Infantry Regiment is based in Skardu , which is a small city captured from Indian control during the 1947 - 48 War . The city is still close to the border . In 1993 , the NLI battalions were organised into regular battalions of the Pakistan Army with the Regimental Centre at Bunji near Gilgit . The Northern Light Infantry Regiment was formed in 1971 when several Scout units — some of which had British - era origins and others which were more recent — were consolidated . Among these , the Gilgit Scouts fought with distinction against India during the 1947 war . In the tradition of the scout units , the NLI originally functioned as a local government - controlled militia meant to maintain order in remote areas . In 1869 , Gilgit was annexed to Kashmir State . Gilgit Agency was re - established in 1889 . In 1889 a force with the name of the Gilgit Levies was raised under the command of Colonel Algernon Durand in order to establish better writ of Government . The force , in 1891 , fought the battle of Nilt against Hunza . In 1913 Major JC Bridges reorganized the force on a company basis and the force was renamedt as the Gilgit Scouts . When the Gilgit scouts were raised , its strength was 582 . Recruitment in the Gilgit scouts was based on the recommendation of the Mirs and Raja s of the area . Close relatives of both Mirs and Rajas on occasion were given direct Viceroy ' s Commissions in the corps of Gilgit Scouts . In 1947 the Gilgit Scouts reverted to their original duties of internal security under the Pakistani Political Agent for Northern Areas . 582 men of the Gilgit Scouts were placed under the command of Major Muhammad Tufail Shaheed ( Nishan - e - Haider ) . On partition , the Gilgit agency was handed over to the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir by the British government . Brigadier Ghansara Singh arrived at Gilgit to implement the charge , as Governor . Subsequently Major General H L Scott the chief of military staff of Kashmir joined him . The troops of the Gilgit Scouts , being 100 % Muslim , were in favour of accession to Pakistan . On 31 October 1947 , in the afternoon , Honorary Captain Muhammad Baber Khan called a meeting of the Junior Commissioned Officers of the Gilgit Scouts in their mess , where it was unanimously decided to over throw the Dogra rule . The governor surrendered on 1 November 1947 . The Muslim company of the 6 Jammu Kahmir Infantry battalion , coming to Gilgit from Bunji under the command of Captain Hassan Khan , also joined the Scouts . The Scouts attacked and destroyed a Dogra check post and burnt the Partab Bridge . The Sikh and Dogra elements of the Kashmiri forces deserted and were later captured . were thus liberated from the Dogra Raj . The force was then placed under the command of Major Muhammad Tufail Shaheed ( Nishan - i - Haider ) , Honorary Captain Muhammad Baber Khan of 1st Northern Light Infantry Regiment , who played a vital role in the war of liberation ( from the Dogra Raj ) in 1947 . Gilgit scouts were the first battalion in 1948 to capture Kargil and Batalik , where they were awarded the motto of Victors . Honorary Captain Muhammad Baber Khan took part in liberation war 1947 / 48 . The remaining personnel of the expanded Corps were designated as the Corps of Northern Scouts in November 1949 . The northern scouts were bifurcated on 1 January 1964 , and Karakoram scouts were raised with its Head Quarters at Skardu . For centralization of administrative and operational control , the entire force was re - organized into 10 infantry units , 3 mountain batteries and a regimental centre with effect from 1 November 1975 . Gilgit scouts were converted into 1st and 2nd Northern Light Infantry Battalion . In 1985 , four battalions were raised for deployment in the Siachen Glacier . Siachen border is the world ’ s highest battlefield . 1 Northern Light Infantry Battalion has the unique honor of being the first unit to defend Gyong and Gyari sectors . Battalion was ordered to move to Siachen in the first week of April 1984 from Gilgit under command Lieutenant Colonel Shuja Ullah Tarrar Tamgha - i - Basalat . The unit was involved in a successful combat with weather , terrain and the real enemy . 1 Northern Light Infantry Battalion did dumping of ammonition and ration and complete defence construction . 1st Northern Light Infantry Regiment remained involved in acts of gallantry while its tenure in Azad Kashmir . A number of successful fire raids were carried out on enemy . The regiment ' s soldiers are drawn from small tribes in mountainous areas and are less prone to altitude sickness and cold temperatures that characterize mountain warfare . The unit was therefore chosen to fight against Indian forces in the 1999 Kargil War , which took place in the mountains of Kashmir . Small NLI infantry units slipped past Indian forces at the Line of Control and seized strategically important high points from which they later attacked the Indians . At that time the NLI was a 14 - battalion - strong force . Three more battalions — the 15 , 16 and 17 NLI — were being raised . Of these , the 3 , 4 , 5 and 7 battalions took part in the intrusion across the Batalik - Chorbatla - Turtuk sectors . Elements of the 12 NLI occupied Tiger Hill and the Mushkoh Valley while the 6 and 11 NLI were spread across the Drass - Tololing - Kaksar sectors . By one account the execution of the whole operation was entrusted to 62 Infantry Brigade at Skardu with 82 Brigade at Minimarg , 32 Brigade at Kel serving as coordinators . By another account the four infantry battalions were Gilgit headquarters of the Forces Command Northern Area was assigned the role of supervising the entire operation . The NLI experienced intense combat , during the conflict , the NLI earned two Nishan - e - Haider s , Pakistan ' s highest military decoration . Both Nishan - e - Haiders are designated to 12 NLI Regiment . 12 NLI fought bravely during Kargil war . As a result the 12 NLI Regiment ' s Capt Kernal Sher Khan and Havaldar Lalak Jan were awarded Nishan e Haiders . For achieving two Nisha - e - Haiders the 12 NLI Regiment has been awarded with Unit Moto ( slogan ) of HAIDERAN . Most of the officers who led the NLI battalions in Kargil were from other regiments and included Punjabis , Mohajirs and Pathans . After outstanding performance in the Kargil conflict of 1999 , the entire Northern Light Infantry Regiment was given the status of regular infantry . The NLI Regiment was promoted from paramilitary force to regular Army regiment in recognition of its good battlefield performance . 12 NLI Regiment was the first Unit to be given the status of regular infantry . On April 30 , 2008 , Lieutenant General Mohsin Kamal was made Colonel Commandant of the Northern Light Infantry Regiment . 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 former colonel commandant Lt General Safdar Hussain , former commander XI Corps , Peshawar . In April 2012 , at least 150 soldiers from the Northern Light Infantry were buried under an avalanche which struck their base close to the Siachen Glacier .