Lanḍī Kōtal ( ps, لنډي کوتل, ur, ) or Lwargai ( ps, لواړګی ''Lwāṛgai'') is a town in the

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and the administrative capital of

Khyber District Khyber District ( ps, خېبر ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Peshawar Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas; with the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakh ...

. It was one of the largest towns in the former

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

, and is located above sea level, on the route across the mountains to the city of

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

. Landi Kotal is at the western edge of the

Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing pa ...

that marks the entrance to the Nangarhar Province of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, which is located just to the west. Landi Kotal is a tourist destination. It was the terminus railway station of

Khyber Pass Railway The Khyber Pass Railway ( ur, ) was one of several railway lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line begins at Peshawar City railway station, Peshawar City and ended at Landi Khana railway station, Landi Khana. The ...

. A tourist train, the

Khyber train safari The Khyber train safari ( ur, , ps, د خیبر تپ صفري) is a defunct tourist train that was operated and maintained by Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan Railways between Peshawar and Attock Khurd. The trip took ...

was run on this railway. However, the train was closed down in 2006 due to washing away of the railway track and bridges by flood. Landi Kotal is the main shopping centre for the

Shalmani The Shalmani or ''Shilmani'' ( ps, شلمانى) is a Pashtun tribe primarily concentrated in the Shalman Valley in Khyber Agency near Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. ''Shalmani'' is also known as ''Sulemani'' a variant of ''Shalmani'' ( ...

, Shinwari,

Afridi The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...

, and

Mulagori The Mulagori ( ps, ملاګوري), also spelled Mullagori and Mallagori, is sub section of Momand Pashtun Ghoryakhel confederacy. Predominantly, Mullagori live in the Mula Gori Tehsil of Khyber Agency District in the Province of Khyber Pakhtunk ...

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

of Khyber Agency.

History

Landi Kotal was the westernmost part of the Khyber held by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

during their

rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule perta ...

of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. In 1897 the

Afridis The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...

attacked Landi Kotal and other posts in the

. Although the

Khyber Rifles The Khyber Rifles are a paramilitary regiment, forming part of the Pakistani Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North). The Rifles are tasked with defending the border with Afghanistan and assisting with law enforcement in the districts adjace ...

put up a stiff defence, Landi Kotal was overrun,Landi Kotal – Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 16, p. 135.
/ref> as the Rifles lacked water. The British counter-attacked with a force of 34,500 men under Sir William Lockhart, defeating the Afridis, although the Afridis took the town again during the second Anglo-Afghan War.Tīrāh – Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 23, p. 390.
/ref> The Landi Kotal

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

during the period of British rule was of the ordinary type, consisting of a keep and an outer fort with accommodation for 5 British officers and 500 native officers and men. From 1899, like the other posts in the Khyber, it had been garrisoned by the Khyber Rifles, an irregular corps of militia recruited from the tribes of the Khyber Agency. In 1925 the heavily engineered

was opened linking

Jamrud Jamrūd (Pashto/ ur, جمرود) or Jam ( ps, جم) is a town in the Khyber District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, on the western fringe of Peshawar city, Jamrud is the doorway to the Khyber Pass which is jus ...

to the Landi Kotal.

Notable people

Hamza Shinwari Ameer Hamza ( ps, امیرحمزه), commonly known as Hamza Baba (), was a prominent Pashto-language poet. His books are taught on master levels in University of Peshawar. At least 5 scholars did their PH.D research thesis on him. He is consid ...

Shaheen Afridi Shaheen Shah Afridi (Urdu, Pashto: ; born 6 April 2000) is a Pakistani professional cricketer who plays as a fast bowler for the Pakistan national cricket team. Early life and career Afridi belongs to the Afridi, Zakhakhel Afridi tribe of the Pa ...

* Usman Khan Shinwari * Khatir Afridi * Ayub Afridi

References

/h1>

External links

Populated places in Khyber District

History

Notable people

See also

References