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Khyber Pass
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The Khyber Pass, (also spelled Khaiber or Khaybar) (altitude: ) is the mountain pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Throughout history it has been an important trade route between Central Asia and South Asia and a strategic military location. The summit of the Khyber Pass is inside Pakistan at Landi Kotal and it cuts through the northeastern part of the Safed Koh mountains which themselves are a far southeastern extension of the Hindu Kush range.
ith many passes, the start and finish are ill-defined.
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Encyclopedia
The Khyber Pass, (also spelled Khaiber or Khaybar) (altitude: ) is the mountain pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Throughout history it has been an important trade route between Central Asia and South Asia and a strategic military location. The summit of the Khyber Pass is inside Pakistan at Landi Kotal and it cuts through the northeastern part of the Safed Koh mountains which themselves are a far southeastern extension of the Hindu Kush range.
Geography
As with many passes, the start and finish are ill-defined. Many definitions state that the Khyber Pass starts from near Jamrud, Pakistan, west of Peshawar, and ends west of Torkham, Afghanistan, a winding road of which passes Fort Maude and Ali Masjid to reach its narrowest point of just wide between canyon walls. The summit at Landi Kotal at is followed by a steep decline to Michni Kandao, Landi Khana, and the Afghan border at Torkham. Here the gradient becomes easier as the pass exits at Haft Chah, opening onto the Dakka plain. The road/highway was built by the British in 1879 and the railway from Jamrud to Landi Khana was built over six years by Victor Bayley and completed in 1925.
The Kabul River flows from Dakka to Peshawar through the Loe Shilman Gorge, a less direct and more difficult route to travel, chosen by Alexander the Great when he crossed into South Asia in 326 BC in an attempt to conquer the Indus Valley.
History
In some versions of the Aryan migration theory, the Indo-Aryans migrated to India via the Khyber Pass. Recorded invasions through the Khyber begin with the conquests of Darius I and Alexander the Great and also include later Muslim invasions of South Asia, culminating with the establishment of the Mughul Empire from 1526. The British invaded Afghanistan from India and fought three Afghan Wars in 1839-42, 1878-80, and 1919. George Molesworth, a member of the British force of 1919, summarised: "Every stone in the Khyber has been soaked in blood." Rudyard Kipling called it "a sword cut through the mountains."
To the north of the Khyber Pass lies the country of the Mullagoris. 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 has long been their main source of income, resistance to challenges to the Shinwaris' authority has often been fierce.
The pass became widely known to thousands of Westerners and Japanese who traveled it in the days of the Hippie trail, taking a bus or car from Kabul or the Afghan border, on the Pakistani side. People were advised not to wander away from the road; a quick daylight passage was then made. Monuments left by British Army units, as well as hillside forts, could be viewed from the highway.
The area of the Khyber Pass has been connected with a counterfeit arms industry, making various types of weapons known to gun collectors as Khyber Pass Copies, using local steel and blacksmiths' forges.
Current conflicts
During current war in Afghanistan, the Khyber Pass has been a major route for resupplying NATO forces in the Afghan theater of conflict. Recognizing this, the Taliban attempted to choke off the route in late 2008 and early 2009, bringing the Taliban into conflict with the Pakistani government.
In February of 2009, a bridge 15 miles northwest of Peshawar was blown up by militants presumably sympathetic to or sponsored by the Taliban. While it was not considered to be a major strategic blow to the allied war effort, it invigorated efforts to secure additional supply routes, some of which may ultimately run through Iran.
Further reading
- Molesworth, Lt-Gen. G.N., Afghanistan 1919 (Asia Publishing House, 1962). This book describes in detail the author's passage through the Khyber Pass when he was Adjutant of the 2/Somerset Light Infantry.
- Victor Bayley CIE CBE. "Permanent Way through the Khyber", Jarrolds (1934). In an article illustrated with photos, the author describes the construction of the railway. The book was reprinted in 1998 by Gyan Publishing House, India as Adventure through Khyber in a breach of copyright.
See also
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