Khyber Pass

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Khyber Pass

Looking back towards Pakistan, on the Pakistan side of the Khyber Pass
Elevation 1,070 m (3,510 ft)
Location Pakistan/Afghanistan
Range Safed Koh
Coordinates 34°5′35″N 71°8′45″E / 34.09306°N 71.14583°E / 34.09306; 71.14583Coordinates: 34°5′35″N 71°8′45″E / 34.09306°N 71.14583°E / 34.09306; 71.14583
Khyber Pass
Mountain passes of Afghanistan
The Khyber Railway. With a Pakistan Railways HGS 2-8-0 at front and rear a charter train climbs the Khyber Pass through a series of zig-zags to gain height.
An advertisement card from 1910 depicting Khaiber Pass.

The Khyber Pass, (also spelled Khaiber or Khaybar; Urdu: درہ خیبر) (altitude: 1,070 m or 3,510 ft) 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 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) 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.

Contents

[edit] 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."

Afghan chiefs and a British Political officer posed at Jamrud fort at the mouth of the Khyber Pass in 1878.

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.[1][2]

[edit] 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.[3]

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. However, the current general consensus is that the new supply route will pass through various central Asian republics to the north of Afghanistan. [4]

[edit] Further reading

  • Molesworth, Lt-Gen. G.N., Afghanistan 1919 (Asia Publishing House, 1962). This book describes in detail the author's passage (Prince Albert's)|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.

[edit] Conquerors & Generals

The following are names of famous Generals that have crossed the Khyber Pass mostly in conquest of India.

[edit] See also

Pakistan portal
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[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.odcmp.org/new_forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=52881
  2. ^ http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=26656
  3. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/03/world/asia/03pstan.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
  4. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/4448121/Khyber-Pass-bridge-used-by-Nato-is-blown-up-by-militants.html
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