THE KAFIRKOT FORT IN THE KHYBER PASS

One of the most important passes in the world is the famous Khyber Pass. It is located between Jamrud Fort and the Pakistan Afghanistan border at Torkham. The Khyber Pass has served as a gateway from Central Asia to India for thousands years. Many races and invading armies marched through this pass and influenced not only the Politics of India but also left their mark on the cultural panorama of the Indo-Pak Sub Continent. The rulers, who controlled the Khyber Pass, built roads, forts and other monuments in the Khyber Pass. One can also see the Buddhist Stupa at Sphola and the mosque at Ali Masjid, which has been constructed in the memory of the bravery exhibited by Hazrat Ali (RA) in the battle of Khyber in Arabia.

While travelling through the pass on the Grand Trunk Road, built by the great Afghan ruler of India, Sher Shah Suri, one can see the historic Khyber Railway and many forts, pickets and bunkers, constructed by the British. The Sikhs could only make it to the foot of the hills and constructed a fort at Jamrud, where General Han Singh Nalwa was killed. The great conqueror Amir Taimur (Tamurlane) built a prison, which is in good shape even today and can be seen from Michni Post a few hundred yards below. It is from Michni Post that one can see the walls of a fort on the ridgeline in north-westerly direction. These are the ruins of the famous Kafirkot Fort.

Two places in the North West Frontier Province are known as Kafirkot. One is located near Bilot Sharif in Dera Ismail Khan, where one can see the ruins of a fort and Hindu temples. The one located in the Khyber Pass was visited by me on 05 September 1996, in the company of Captain Ahfaq Ali of the Khyber Rifles.

The Kafirkot Fort can be reached from Landikotal Bazaar,. from where a road leads in the northwest direction towards Charbagh Fort built in 1926-27, after the Third Afghan War, by the British. One leaves the metalled portion of about seven-kilometre road and drives beyond Charbagh Fort towards the villages of Khargali. As one enters a nullah behind a rocky ridge, one can see old and new graveyards and the houses of the villages. Suddenly one comes across a ruined triangular, walled enclosure to the right side. That is the Kafirkot Fort. One has to get down the vehicle and walk across the Khar Ohand gorge to climb up the fort. The triangular fort has been strategically located to cover the most important approach from the valley down below. It dominates the area and provides good observation. The walls of the fort have been made of dressed stones and are worth seeing. The thickness of the walls varies from four to about seven feet and must have been about 15 feet high. There is a filled up well in the courtyard, which according to the locals was a death well and criminals used to be hanged there. In my opinion, however, this was a well for water. As the water source is the nullah down below, the well must have been dug below the nullah bed level to get water through seepage. The criminals could in any case be just thrown down the cliff but the well inside the fort was a requirement for security reasons. Such wells are a common feature in the Khyber and other mountainous areas.

In order to see the remaining portion of the fort, one has to climb up to the top of the ridge. One is surprised to see about 400-yard-long wall of the fort along the Kafirkot ridge. This is the wall, which is visible from Michni Post. The ridge is now having two British made pickets known as North Kafirkot and South Kafirkot. This wall is also made of dressed stones and has some bastions to cover the entire area. The rear is secured due to the rocky ridge line itself. As a whole, the fort is a very impressive monument, which has been unfortunately ignored at all levels.

As far as the history of the fort is concerned, it is said that the site had a Buddhist monastery at one time. The possibility of its existence cannot be ignored, but no traces of a monastery can be seen there today. I believe that being located on the shortest route between Landikotal and Torkham, it must have earlier been a fort of the Hindu Shahi rulers, who loosely controlled Jalalabad area also. The name of Kafirkot or the Fort of the Non-believers must be having its origins in this fact. The present fort was however built by Akber the Great, the Mughal Emperor, who ruled India and Afghanistan from 1556 to 1605 AD. The Mughals kept a garrison here and seems to have been many ups and downs, especially when the Afghans under Darya Khan Afridi and Aimal Khan Mohmand routed the army of Aurangzeb Alamgir (RA) near Laridi Khana in 1672 AD.

The fort came under the control of the Afghan rulers after the fall of the Mughals. One of last battles of the Third Afghan War (1919-1921), was fought at Kafirkot between the British and the Afghans. The Afghans and the tribesmen had almost reached Landikotal via Charbagh (near Kafirkot) but the Afghan General holding Spina Suka feature, eight miles north of Kafirkot, did not converge on Landikotal for unknown reasons. The Afghans therefore did not capture Landikotal and retired. Had they been successful, the British would have been compelled to evacuate Landikotal and withdraw up to Ali Masjid. The British later on built strong defences in the entire area.

The ruined fort walls of Kafirkot are a witness to many historic events in the area. These silent spectators would tell their story to historians and researchers only if they give them their due importance and recognition.