THE KHYBER PASS Who has not heard of the famous Khyber Pass? There are many who have travelled through some part of it. It is a narrow mountain valley about fifty kilometres long. We have to travel through the Khyber Pass to go to Afghanistan. At this side of the Khyber, is the famous city of Peshawar and at the other end, the frontier post of Torkham. The Khyber Pass has been famous in history for thousands of years. The Aryans crossed this Pass nearly four thousand years ago and entered Pakistan. After them came the Mongols and the Tartars. Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi crossed the Khyber Pass seventeen times to attack South Asia. Then came other Muslim conquerors - Shahabuddin Ghauri, Babur and Ahmad Shah Abdali. The Khyber Pass had been a famous trade route. Formerly, camelcaravans passed through it. They carried bales of cotton, silk and spicesfrom India and China to Afghanistan and beyond. They brought mirrors,furs, skins and fruits from there for India and the countries to th...