The force has its origins back in the days of the British Raj, and has continued to function for over a century.

The Malakand Levies Force has a Federal Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) budget for 2018-19 of Rs 551,587,000.

The Malakand Levies worked on ad hoc and temporary bases and therefore were not entitled to the pension, except for a negligible gratuity.

The Levies have an important relationship to the elite Special Services Group commandos of the Pakistan Army.

Until the 1990s Levies troops and NCOs trained SSG personnel in long-range reconnaissance patrolling in mountain conditions.