| Country: | Bahrain |
| Details of Formation: | The National Guard was established in 1997 through a royal decree by Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (Wikipedia National Guard). |
| Details of Termination: | -- |
| Purpose: | The National Guard has two purposes, to serve as defence force against external threats and as a security force against internal threats (Wikipedia National Guard). News sources report regular operations by the National Guard against internal threats to the regime. |
| Organisation: | The National Guard is commanded by Lieutenant-General Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa, brother of King hmad bin Isa Al Khalifa (Wikipedia National Guard). The National Guard is also effectively used by the Ministry of Interior. Members are under the protection of a law that stipulates strict penalty against anyone who incites or commits crimes against its members. |
| Weapons and Training: | A news source from 2000 reported that the UK trains members of the Bahraini security forces, including the National Guard. |
| Size: | According to Wikipedia the PGM has about 2,000 members. It also mentions a total undated size of 3,800 (Wikipedia National Guard). In 2011, the US State Department estimated that there were 1,200 National Guard members, but then membership rose by about 100%. Many Pakistani were recruited, with estimates ranging between 1,500-2,500 Pakistani recruits (Wikpedia Bahraini uprising). A news source from August 2011 reports that 1,000 Pakistani forces are members of Bahrain’s National Guard. |
| Reason for Membership: | Members were recruited. Pakistani members were recruited from Pakistan through the Fauji Foundation (Wikipedia National Guard). Bahrainis were promised jobs in security forces. A commander of the National Guard went to Pakistan for recruitment purposes (Wikipedia Bahraini uprising). |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The National Guard was involved in the government’s violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters during the Bahreini uprising (Wikipedia National Guard). In 2000, the National Guard was accused of shooting pro-democracy demonstrators. |
| Other Information: | -- |
| References: |
Wikipedia. “Bahraini uprising of 2011”. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bahraini_uprising_of_2011&oldid=875750404 Wikipedia. “National Guard (Bahrain)”. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Guard_(Bahrain)&oldid=730567148 |