Khojak Pass (el. 7,513 ft [2,290 m]) is a mountain pass connecting Qila Abdullah with Chaman in the province of Baluchistan, Pakistan. The road through the Toba Achakzai range connects the larger cities of Quetta, Pakistan, and Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Khojak railroad tunnel 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) long; pictured on the old five rupees note.
The Khojak Pass ca. 1840, James Atkinson
Small forts defend the pass on each hill top.
"Historically, the Achakzai, 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 with the Indian subcontinent, the other being the more famous" Khyber Pass.[3]
References
^Danial Shah (23 October 2016). "The mystery of Shela Bagh". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
^"(PK) Pakistan - The Khojak Rope Inclines - Funimag photoblog". Funimag photoblog. April 25, 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
^"The Master of Spin Boldak: Undercover with Afghanistan’s drug-trafficking border police" Archived 2021-08-19 at the Wayback Machine by Matthieu Aikins, Harper's Magazine, December, 2009, p. 54. Note: The writer traversed the Pass, "arriv[ing] in the town of Chaman after four hours on a crumbling road." p. 53. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
Notes
Encyclopedia of Pakistan by Zahid Hussain Anjum. Jahangir Book Depot, Pakistan (2005–06)