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The
true frontier
Khyber Pass is an ancient zone of contested ground, long disputed, never entirely at peace, and remaining un-mastered by even the most powerful By Sarwat Ali The Khyber Pass Since Khyber Pass along
with the Straits of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal had been strategic keys The pass that stretches thirty miles through the Safied Koh from Afghanistan at the western end of the plains to Peshawar at the eastern ends was the front line in the defense of India and the cause of concern through the centuries about the threat from Afghanistan and lands beyond. The Khyber Pass also entered the British popular imagination as a romantic, legendary prize to be defended at all costs. Today it remains a turbulent frontier fight in Afghanistan against a resurgent Taliban and the al-Qaeda allies. Khyber Pass marks more than just a border, more than a line on the map staffed by officials manning a barrier and browsing through passports. It is truly a frontier, an ancient zone of contested ground, long disputed and never entirely at peace, incorporated intermittently into empires and states but remaining un-mastered by even the most powerful. Paddy Docherty inspired by its significance has written the history of the Khyber Pass by choosing to focus on certain critical and dramatic moments regarding events in the Khyber Pass which changed the entire course of history. Since some of the greatest conquerors of the world passed through the Khyber Pass the wars and marches in the pass have become landmarks in military history. The story begins with Cyrus
and Darius, the great Persian kings who took their armies into India. When the Achaemenians were threatened by unrest among the tribes Cyrus came to the Khyber Pass to meet this menace. And Darius was able to rule efficiently because he set up a network of royal roads with massive projects like connecting Persia with the Aegean coast, Ecbatana with Egypt via Babylon, and Kabul into India when he advanced beyond the Gandhara. When the occupation and annexation of Iran proper was achieved without hindrance it took Alexander a great deal longer to subdue the north east of the Iranian world which included the Khyber Pass. He divided his army into two, one marched through the Kabul valley and the other after securing the Kunar and Swat valleys in 327 B.C marched through the Khyber Pass. Both rejoined at the banks of the Indus. His conquest of Bactria sowed the seeds of Hellenistic culture that flourished later. Not many people know about the running battle that went on between the Persian Empire and the Romans. Much has been written about the Roman Empire engagement in the west, but the Eastern campaigns has not really been publicised as much. Their march to the East was stopped by the Sassanians. After the western frontier had been secured by Shahpur he turned his attention to the East and vanquished the Kushan Empire by capturing its capital Peshawar. His march through the Khyber facilitated his occupation of most of the Indus Valley and its absorption into the Sassasian kingdom. In the beginning of the thirteen century Genghis Khan went to war with the Muslims. He defeated Muhammed Khwarzim Shah but his son Jalaluddin Khwarzim rallied a resistance against the Mongols. Genghis Khan marched through Afghanistan, destroyed Bamiyan and journeyed through the Khyber Pass in 1221 to overhaul him on the river Indus but Jalaluddin escaped to fight another day. After his victory Genghis Khan did not penetrate deeper into India and the nascent sultanate probably escaped being absorbed into the Khwarizm. The Mongol explosion into Asia allowed the Sultanate to develop as a distinctive Muslim state in northern India at a remove from the Islamic lands that came under the sway of Genghis and his heirs. From among his legacy of the Turko Mongols rose another King Timor. He invaded India through the Khyber Pass and camped on the Indus in 1398 .He arrived in Delhi conquered and pillaged and when he went back took with other spoils many artisans and artists from India to beautify his cities of Samarkand and Bokhara. From among the same line another king Babur crossed the Khyber Pass reached Peshawar and fought on the river Indus. This emboldened him to attack Delhi and in the first battle of Panipat laid the foundations of a greatest Muslim Empire in the Indian subcontinent. When the Khyber Pass became part of the British Empire, learning from their turbulent experience, they formed a policy of manning forts and guard posts through the length of the Pass. They kept it open by daily diplomacy with tribal leaders, subsidy, appointments, rewards and the threats of war. After the Third Afghan War Railway was built through the Pass and its final phase completed in 1926. During the same period the British presence was strengthened by the building of the Shagai Fort on the heights south of Ali Masjid but little did they know that it would be the world war fought in East Asia and Europe that will force them to withdraw from the pass leaving it as part of a new country. It appears that the author is neither a professional writer nor a scholar in the conventional sense and has lived in Africa and the Middle East .He has done a stints of jobs like being a chef, oil and gas consultant, internet entrepreneur, shipbroker and investment banker. He has the knack to tell a story and thus the potential of being more accessible to the common reader than academics that focus narrowly on history and politics.
The Kallar Kahar Lake and the Katas Raj temples offer a gratifying stopover -- from the motorway and the usual daily grind By Aziz Omar Travelling on the motorway
while heading towards Rawalpindi, it is quite easy to miss the Since the opening of the motorway in 1997, Kallar Kahar is frequently visited by hordes of students while on their daylong field trips. They usually throng the gangway that extends into the lake, waiting for their turn to paddle around in the paddle boats moored there. Powering these fibre glass bobbing crafts with pure muscle power is quite an effort yet really gives one an incredible cardio workout while melting away those extra pounds that one packs in one's otherwise sedentary lifestyle. It makes one wish that such a breathtaking (pun intended) exercise environment was located close to home so that one could access it every now and then. This boating facility has been made possible courtesy of the PTDC (Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation) resort that is right partway up the hill that faces the lake. The lodgings here are quite comfortable with the recent additions of two VIP rooms, and even a small in-house eatery that serves a variety of Chinese and continental cuisine. However, considering the proximity to a major thoroughfare and year round stream of tourists, it is quite surprising that there is no availability of piped natural gas or cable TV services. Hence electric heaters and geysers are a costly but essential alternative. If you are truly interested
in immersing yourself in ancient history, you can take the meandering Another claim to historical fame of this place is the stay and work undertaken by the renowned Muslim scientists/philosopher extraordinaire Al-Beruni. On his way to India in the 11th century A.D. to gather material for his later work Kitab-ul-hind, Al-Beruni stayed at Katas for some time where he learned Sanskrit and also attempted to calculate the circumference of the Earth. His measurements that were a result of his solving a complex equation were so right on the money, that his figure was only off by 100km or so from the modern value. The Kallar Kahar Lake and the Katas Raj temples offer a uniquely gratifying stopover for all those who frequently shuttle to and fro from Lahore to Islamabad. These two places on either side of the motorway as it passes through Chakwal district are ideal for one wishing to take a break from the usual daily grind (read professional bondage) that is typical of the hectic life of these two mega cities.
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that locked up the world before the age of the aeroplane it had to become a
critical focus for imperial anxiety and military planners.
Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Shahpur, Timor, Babur followed by many
famous travellers. Kushan nomads came as fierce invaders before converting to
Buddhism. White Huns tore into India to lay waste a civilisation. Through the
Khyber Pass, Islam was introduced to Northern India first and Buddhism to
China.
shimmering expanse of Kallar Kahar Lake. However, for those in the know,
slowing down and exiting the M-2 highway at the local interchange lands them
right at the banks of this historically tinged body of water. The very
founder of the Mughal Dynasty, Zahir-ud-Din Mohammad or more famously known
as Babur, passed through this region en-route to India to capture the throne
of the Delhi Sultanate. Babur was so touched by the beauty of this area that
he ordered his men to lay a garden that was named Bagh-e-Safa and which still
exists today. According to his memoirs, he used to languish in the beauty of
its orchids while perched atop his stone throne or Takht-e-Babri, from which
he also used to address his army while it was encamped here.
road leading towards Choa Saidan Shah which passes right through the Hindu
temple complex of Katas Raj some 24km away. Although most of these temples
were built during the 10th and 11th centuries A.D., the earliest of these
date back to the 6th century A.D. This complex is regular pilgrimage spot for
Hindu devotees who come from across the border every spring. These temples
had been in a state of neglect and disrepair for quite a long time until 2006
when they were transferred from the federal government to the Punjab
Archaeology Department (PAD). They were also awarded a grant of around Rs.108
million to perform conservation and development work over a period of three
years. Though the ruins may hold a lot of fascination for history buffs as
well as for Hindu pilgrims, the highlight of the temples is the pool that is
formed from the water of a mountain stream that flows in to their midst.
Remarkably, the water of this pool is naturally blue and offers an attractive
background for taking photographs. Nonetheless, it holds of a lot of
religious significance for Hindus as it is believed to wash away all the sins
of the ones who bathe in its waters. Furthermore, according to the Hindus
holy book of 'Mahabharata', the deity Shiva wept so profusely over the death
of his wife Satti that his tears formed two pools, one at Pushkara in Ajmer
and the other at Ketaksha or Katak Shell. It is from the latter Sanskrit
word, meaning chain of tears, that the Katas has been derived. However, a
visitor might be have to shed their own tears due to usage that some others
might have for water of the source stream, of which washing clothes is just
one ordinary kind.