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 Khyber
Pass is perhaps the
most famous pass in
the world because of
its geographic as
well as historic
importance. Going
northwest from the
eastern end in
Pakistan, the pass
starts from near
Jamrud and ends west
of Torkham,
Afghanistan, a
winding road. The
route passes Fort
Maude and Ali Masjid
to reach the
narrowest point of
the pass. The summit
is at Landi Kotal,
followed by a steep
decline to Michni
Kandao, Landi Khana
and the Afghan
border just east of
Torkham. Here the
gradient becomes
easier as the pass
exits at Haft Chah
onto the Dakka
plain. From Dakka,
the Kabul River
flows back to
Peshawar through the
Loe Shilman Gorge, a
less direct and more
difficult route, but
the one chosen by
Alexander the Great
when he crossed over
into India in 326
BCE.
Jamrud is at an
elevation of 491 m,
while the summit at
Landi Kotal is 1070
m. A road was built
by the British
through the Pass in
1879 and a railroad
in the 1920s.
Khyber pass is a
narrow, steep-sided
pass, 28 mi long,
winding through the
Safed Koh Mts., on
the
Pakistan-Afghanistan
border; highest
point is 3,500 ft.
The routes through
it link the cities
of Peshawar,
Pakistan, and Kabul,
Afghanistan.
For centuries a
trade and invasion
route from central
Asia, the Khyber
Pass was one of the
principal approaches
of the armies of
Alexander the Great,
Timur, Babur, Mahmud
of Ghazna, and Nadir
Shah in their
invasions of India.
The pass was also
important in the
Afghan Wars fought
by the British in
the 19th cent. The
Khyber Pass is now
traversed by an
asphalt road and an
old caravan route. A
railroad, which
passes through 34
tunnels and over 92
bridges and
culverts, runs to
the Afghan border.
Pakistan controls
the entire pass.
You may travel by
road from Peshawar
via Jamrud fort
which lies amongst
low story hills
capped with pickets
manned by Khyber
Rifles. Also on the
way you will see Ali
Masjid and the fort
with insignia of the
regiments that have
served in the
Khyber. On route is
also the Sphola
stupa of Buddhist
period (2-5
centuries A-D) and
Landikotal Bazaar
until you reach the
border post at
Torkham.
For rail
enthusiasts, there
is also a Khyber
railway. It threads
its way through 34
tunnels crossing 92
bridges and culverts
and climbing 1,200
metres. The British
built it in 1920 at
an enormous cost of
Rs. Two million. Two
or three coaches are
pulled and pushed by
two 1920 model steam
engines. At one
point, the track
climbs 130 metres in
less than a mile by
means of the famous
Changai Spur, a
section
 of track
shaped like a "W"
with two reversing
stations.
History
The Khyber Pass has
been an invasion
route ever since the
time of Alexander
the Great, with
several Muslim
invasions of India,
culminating with the
establishment of the
Moghul Empire from
1526. Going the
other way, the
British invaded
Afghanistan through
the Pass and fought
three Afghan Wars in
1839-42, 1878-80,
and 1919.
To the north of the
Khyber Pass lies the
country of the
Mullagori Afridis.
To the south is
Afridi Tirah, while
the inhabitants of
villages in the Pass
itself are Afridi
clansmen. Throughout
the centuries the
Pashtun clans,
particularly the
Afridis and the
Afghan Shinwaris,
have regarded the
Pass as their own
preserve and have
levied a toll on
travellers for safe
conduct. Since this
form of extortion
has always been
their main source of
income, they are
naturally disturbed
when anyone comes
along to interfere
with it. Hence their
dislike of invading
armies and
penetrations, and
other exercises of
authority, even
though some armies
have been prepared
to pay the
blackmail, in the
form of allowances.
Resistance from the
local tribesmen has
always been fierce.
George Molesworth, a
member of the
British force of
1919, summarised it
well. "Every stone
in the Khaibar has
been soaked in
blood."
The Khyber Pass is
also thought to be
the route the
ancient Aryan people
came over when they
settled into the
Indus valley.
The Khyber Pass has
also been the center
of a local
counterfeit arms
industry, making
AK-47's and
Martini-Henry
rifles, among
others, using local
steel and
blacksmiths' forges. |
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