A sentry of the Khyber Rifles stands guard on the frontier between British India and Afghanistan, 1946

Photograph by Major A G Harfield, Khyber Rifles, 1946.

The Khyber Rifles were one of several paramilitary police units recruited from the tribesmen of the North West Frontier. They served as auxiliaries to the regular Indian Army. Recruited from Afridi Pathan tribesmen, the Rifles were commanded by British officers on secondment from regular Indian regiments. When Pakistan won its independence in 1947 the Rifles became part of the new country's Frontier Corps and continued to police the unruly tribal districts.

From a collection of photographs by Maj A G Harfield, Khyber Rifles, 1946.