Khojak Pass (el. ) is a mountain pass connecting
Qila Abdullah with
Chaman
Chaman ( Balochi, Pashto and ur, ) is a city and recently claimed as a new district of Balochistan named Chaman District as it was earlier a part of district Qila Abdullah District located on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. It is the capital o ...
in the province of
Baluchistan,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. The road through the
Toba Achakzai range connects the larger cities of
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...
, Pakistan, and
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
,
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 ...
.
*
Khojak railroad tunnel long; pictured on the old five rupees note.
* Small forts defend the pass on each hill top.
*"Historically, the
Achakzai
The Achakzai or Achekzai ( ps, اڅکزی; fa, اچکزایی) is a Pashtun tribe that resides on both sides of the Durand Line, centered on Killa Abdullah District in Pakistan with some clans as far away as Afghanistan's Kandahar Province.
...
, across the Khojak Mountains, have controlled the smuggling routes around the Khojak Pass, one of the two major mountain passes that connect the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
with 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 ...
, the other being the more famous"
Khyber Pass.
"The Master of Spin Boldak: Undercover with Afghanistan’s drug-trafficking border police"
by Matthieu Aikins, '' Harper's Magazine'', December, 2009, p. 54. Note: The writer traversed the Pass, "arriv ngin the town of Chaman after four hours on a crumbling road." p. 53. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
References
Notes
* ''Encyclopedia of Pakistan'' by Zahid Hussain Anjum. Jahangir Book Depot, Pakistan (2005–06)
{{Balochistan-geo-stub
Mountain passes of Balochistan (Pakistan)
Mountain passes of Pakistan