KHYBER PASS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 19, 23 January 1926, Page 10

KHYBER PASS

THE HIGHWAY TO INDIA

NEW RAILWAY OPENED

STRATEGICAL IMPORTANCE TO

INDIA;

The opening ceremony of the re-cently-completed Khyber Railway will once more bring the North-West frontier of India before the public eye, especially the Khyber Pass, writes Captain C. Collin Davies ■in the London "Daily Telegraph." From remotest antiquity the Khyber Pass haa been the great highway between Central Asia and India. Century after century hordes of barbarian invaders 'have swept like devastating torrents through the mountain passes of the North-West. Dark, inhospitable nullahs, lonely mountain glens, and barren, wind-swept plains have resounded to the tramp of Asiatic armies. In all probability most of the invasions of India within historical times have passed through the Khyber. Persian, Greek, and Afghan, the forces of Alexander and the armies of Mahmud of Ghazni, the hosts of Timur, Baber, and Nadir Shah, and the troops of Ahmad Shah Durrani, all advanced by this route to lay waste the fair and smiling plains jot Hindustan. The line of advance used by Alexander the Great is still a controversial question. Some authorities would have us, believe that he advanced by more northerly passes through the Kunar Valley; others are of opinion that his generals, Hephaestion and Perdiccas, came through the Khyber and entered the. Peshawar district near Jamrud. THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER. The North-West Frontier is approximately 1200 miles in length, and except where it is traversed by the Khyber, Kurram, Toehi, Gomal, and Bolan Passes, forms an almost impenetrable barrier against any invading foe. There are numerous other passes, such as the Dorah, Zidig, and Shawal, but these can be placed outside the pale of strategical considerations. The Khyber, as its name implies, runs through the Khyber hills from the Shadi Bagiar opening, about three miles beyond the fort of Jamrud, for about thirty-three miles in a north-westerly direction, until it finally debouches just beyond the old Afghan fort of Haft Chah, on to the barren plain of Loi Dakka, which stretches to the banks of the Kabul Elver opposite Ihe Mohmund village of Lalpura. There is a very steep ascent at the mouth of the pass, but afterwards it rises gradually to Fort Ali Masjid (3174 ft), where the Khyber stream is first encountered, and whore it also leaves the pass to flow through the Kuki Khel country. From Ali Masjid .the pass winds along through the village of Sultan Khel to Landi Kotal (3518 ft), where its highest point la reached, and whence a route leads into the Shihnani country. The main pass, however, descends from Landi Kotal through Shinwari territory to Landi Khana, where British control ends ,and the limits of Afghanistan are reached. At Kafir Kote, near Landi Khana, a crumbling Buddhist stupa and the remains of an ancient Grecian fort may still be seen. This Kafir Kote should not be confused with the ancient fortress of the same name, which crowns the northernmost spur of the Khasor Range and overlooks the junction of the Kurram and Indus Eivers.

In and around the Khyber dwell tho Khyber Afridis. From Jamrud to the white mosque of All Masjid it winds through the territories of thcr Kuki Khel, Sipah, Kamrai, and Kamber Kh,el; from Ali Masjid to tho Kandar ravine, near Garhi Lala Beg, it passes through the habitat of the Malikdin Khel and Zakka Khel. THE WILD AFEIDL The origin of the Afridi tribes lies hidden in the mists of obscurity. Some authorities identify them with the Aoarytae of Herodotus; others believe them to be of Pathan origin, the descendants of one Karlarnaey. The latest opinion, that of Sir Aurel Stein, is well worth recording: "The Afridi tribes, though at present speaking Paahto, contain a large, if not predominant racial element, which was established in Tirah long before the advent of those Afghan invaders, who during Mohammedan times gradually pushed their way into the belt of hills and alluvial plains west of the Indus."

Many and lurid are the descriptions of the poor savage Afridi, who has been forced by his geographical position to play a political part in the drama of Anglo-African relations. Elphinstone described him as the greatest of robbers amongst robber hordes. Mackeson painted him with an avarice so great that ho would not scruple to sell even his own kith and kin. A cold-blooded murderer and a ruthless robber he may be, yet we cannot but admire his fine soldierly qualities, and, above all, his manliness. A truer and more. sympathetic description of the Afridi is that of Sir Robert Warburton, who for eighteen years was Warden of the Khyber, and was himself of Afghan extraction. According to Warburton, the - Afridi is forced from his childhood to look upon his nearest relative as his deadliest enemy. Distrust 'if all mankind is, therefore, almost a religion to the Afridi. Once this distrust is removed, he is capable of the greatest devotion, and may turn out to be your staunchest friend. But, treat him unfairly or abuse him, interfere with bis customs or his womanfolk, and he will cut your_ throat without the slightest .compunction. In appearance lean and wiry, his eagle eye, proud bearing, md light step speak of a freedom born of I'is wind-swept raghzas and mountain glens. In religion an orthodox Mohammedan df the Sunni persuasion, he is, nevertheless, ignorant of the commonest tenets of 'he Koran, and superstitious in the extreme. His never-ending blood feuds, confin3d to the various clans and sects of the Afridi tribe, and hid intensely democratic nature, render tribal cohesion and united action well-nigh impossible. PUNITIVE OPERATIONS. Even before we took over the Punjab and the frontier districts, we came into contact with the martial and ferocious Afridis, .and our first skirmish with them dates back to Wade's attack during the First Afghan War (1839-42). During the Second Afghan War (1878-80), we were forced to undertake punitive operations against the most troublesome nf the Afridi clans, the turbulent Zakka Khels. The Tirah expedition of 1897 and the coercive measures against the recalcitrant Zakkas. in 1908 are recent history. On the conclusion of the Second Afghan War, the Khyher Afridis and vie Shinwarjs of Landi'Kotal accepted responsibility for the pass. At the same time a force .of Jezailchis was raised for the protection .of life and property. The close of thb Tirah campaign witnessed a fresh agreement, by which the Government of India was to maintain an Afridi

militia commanded by British officers. In the year 1908 the Afridi tribe was made responsible for the behaviour of the Zakka Khela.

It was not until the Third Afghan War of 1919 that it was found necessary to disarm the Khyber Eifles. The militia system may be useful in preserving the peace of the border in normal times. It must inevitably fail when too great a strain is placed upon it, as was the case in 1919. To protect the frontier it will be essential to have regular forces in constant readiness. To ensure this an excellent system of roads and railways is also essential. It was the realisation of this which led to the construction ijf the present Khyber Railway.