on the independence of pakistan in 1947, the 1st punjab regiment was allotted to pakistan army. at the time, the active battalions were 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th. sikhs and rajputs were transferred to the indian army and the regiment's new class composition was fixed as punjabis and pathans. in november, field marshal sir claude auchinleck, supreme commander of the indian and pakistan armies was appointed colonel of the 1st punjab regiment and the regiment was authorized to wear a grass-green hackle with regimental berets. in 1948, the 14th battalion was re-raised in response to the war with india in kashmir, where the 2nd battalion again distinguished itself and captain muhammad sarwar became the first recipient of nishan-i-haider, pakistan's highest gallantry award. in 1956, a major reorganization was undertaken in the pakistan army and larger infantry groups were created by amalgamating the existing infantry regiments. as a result, the 1st punjab regiment was amalgamated with the 14th, 15th and 16th punjab regiments to form one large punjab regiment. the four regimental centres were also merged and the combined centre moved to mardan. the line up of the new regiment was: