56th Punjabi Rifles ( Frontier Force ) The 56th Punjabi Rifles ( Frontier Force ) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army . It was raised in 1849 as the 2nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry . It was designated as the 56th Punjabi Rifles ( Frontier Force ) in 1906 and became 2nd Battalion 13th Frontier Force Rifles in 1922 . In 1947 , it was allocated to the Pakistan Army , where it continues to exist as 8th Battalion The Frontier Force Regiment . Early History . The regiment was raised on 18 May 1849 by Lieutenant JC Johnston at Mianwali as part of the Transfrontier Brigade . In 1851 , the brigade was expanded and redesignated as the Punjab Irregular Force , which later became famous as the Punjab Frontier Force or The Piffers . The Piffers consisted of five regiments of cavalry , eleven regiments of infantry and five batteries of artillery besides the Corps of Guides . Their mission was to maintain order on the Punjab Frontier ; a task they performed with great aplomb . The 2nd Punjab Infantry took part in numerous frontier operations besides the Great Indian Mutiny of 1857 - 58 , when took part in Siege of Delhi , the Siege and Capture of Lucknow , the Battle of Cawnpore , the Rohilkhand Campaign and the capture of Bareilly . During the Second Afghan War of 1878 - 80 , the regiment fought in the Battle of Peiwar Kotal . In 1897 , it took part in the Tirah Campaign . Subsequent to the reforms brought about in the Indian Army by Lord Kitchener in 1903 , the regiment ' s designation was first changed to 56th Infantry ( Frontier Force ) and then in 1906 , to 56th Punjabi Rifles ( Frontier Force ) . In 1914 , the regiment ' s class composition was two companies each of Dogras , Pathans , Sikhs , and Punjabi Muslims . During the First World War , the regiment served throughout with the 28th Frontier Force Brigade . In 1915 , it served in Egypt and Aden ( Yemen ) , moving to Mesopotamia in December . Here , it fought with great gallantry in the bloody battles for the Relief of Kut al Amara on the Tigris Front in 1916 - 17 , the capture of Baghdad and in operations north of Baghdad at Istabulat , Daur and Tikrit . In 1918 , the regiment moved to Palestine and took part in the Battle of Megiddo , which led to the annihilation of the Turkish Army in Palestine . It returned to India in 1920 . In 1917 , the 56th Punjabi Rifles raised a second battalion , which served in the Third Afghan War of 1919 . The regiment ' s total casualties during the war were 1679 , including 389 killed or died of wounds . Subsequent History . After the First World War , the two battalions of 56th Punjabi Rifles were grouped with the 55th , 57th , 58th and 59th Scinde Rifles ( Frontier Force ) to form the 13th Frontier Force Rifles in 1922 . The 1st Battalion 56th Punjabi Rifles became the 2nd Battlaion , while 2nd Battalion 56th Punjabi Rifles became the 10th ( Training ) Battlaion of the new regiment . During the Second World War , the battalion served with distinction in the Burma Campaign . In 1947 , the Frontier Force Rifles was allotted to Pakistan Army . In 1948 , 2 FF Rifles fought in the Kashmir War against India . In 1956 , the Frontier Force Rifles and the Pathan Regiment were merged with the Frontier Force Regiment , and 2 FF Rifles was redesignated as 8 FF . During the Indo - Pakistan War of 1965 , the battalion served in the Rann of Kutch and Rajasthan Sector .