89th Punjabis The 89th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1798 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry . It was designated as the 89th Punjabis in 1903 and became 1st Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922 . In 1947 , it was allocated to Pakistan Army , where it continues to exist as 1st Battalion of The Baloch Regiment . Early History . The regiment was raised on 9 November 1798 at Masulipatam as the 3rd Extra Battalion of Madras Native Infantry by Captain Alexander MacLeod and was known as " MacLeod ki Paltan " ( MacLeod ’ s Battalion ) . In 1800 , it was designated as the 1st Battalion 15th Regiment , and in 1824 , as the 29th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry . The battalion was composed mostly of Muslims , Tamils and Telugus of South India . In 1818 , it was dispatched to Ceylon to suppress a rebellion of the Sinhalese . In 1832 , it was stationed at Malacca , Malaya , when it was again engaged in suppressing a revolt in the State of Naning . The regiment served in Burma during the Third Burma War of 1885 - 87 . In 1893 , it was reconstituted with Punjabi Muslims , Sikhs , Rajput s & Brahmin s , and permanently based in Burma . Its new designation was 29th Regiment ( 7th Burma Battalion ) of Madras Infantry . In 1901 , its title was changed to 29th Burma Infantry . The Burma Battalions were special units raised to police the new territories acquired in the Third Anglo - Burmese War and pacify the rebellious hill tribes inhabiting the frontier regions of Burma . Subsequent to the reforms brought about in the Indian Army by Lord Kitchener in 1903 , all former Madras units had 60 added to their numbers . Consequently , the regiment ' s designation was changed to 89th Punjabis . In 1910 , the Burma Battalions were delocalized from Burma and in 1914 , the regiment moved to Dinapore in India , just before the outbreak of First World War . The 89th Punjabis have a most distinguished record of service during the First World War . They have the unique distinction of serving in more theatres of war than any other unit of the British Empire . These include : The regiment finally arrived home in August 1920 after six long years of active service . During the war , it suffered 1018 casualties including 211 killed . Their long list of honours and awards includes the Victoria Cross awarded to Naik Shahmed Khan in 1916 . The regiment raised a second battalion on 5 June 1917 . The 2nd Battalion 89th Punjabis or 2 / 89th Punjabis served in the Third Afghan War of 1919 and took part in suppressing the Iraqi revolt against the British in 1920 . Subsequent History . After the First World War , the two battalions of 89th Punjabis were grouped with four other Burma Battalions ( 90th , 91st , 92nd Punjabis and 93rd Burma Infantry ) to form the 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922 . The 1 / 89th Punjabis became the 1st Battalion and the 2 / 89th Punjabis the 10th ( Training ) Battalion of the new regiment . During the Second World War , 1 / 8th Punjab fought with great gallantry in the Malayan Campaign and again suffered heavy losses . In 1943 , the 10th Battalion became the 8th Punjab Regimental Centre . In 1947 , the 8th Punjab Regiment was allocated to Pakistan Army . In 1956 , it was merged with the Baluch Regiment and 1 / 8th Punjab was redesignated as 1 Baluch ( now 1 Baloch ) . During the Indo - Pakistan War of 1965 , the battalion again distinguished itself at Lahore and Sulemanki , while during the Indo - Pakistan War of 1971 it was deployed in Shakargarh Sector . Since then , it has served in the Siachen Conflict during 1990 - 91 and in Liberia as United Nations Peacekeepers in 2004 .