From the Indus valley into the interior of Afghanistan there are
only four lines of communication which can be called military roads:
first, from _Peshawur_ through the Khaiber Pass to _Kabul_; second,
from _Thull_, over the Peiwar and Shuturgurdan passes to _Kabul_;
third, from _Dera Ismail Khan_ through the Guleir Surwandi and Sargo
passes to _Ghazni_; fourth, by _Quetta_ to Kandahar and thence to
_Herat_, or by Ghazni to _Kabul_. Besides these there are many
steep, difficult, mule tracks over the bleak, barren, Sulimani
range, which on its eastern side is very precipitous and impassable
for any large body of troops.
[Illustration: Fort of Ali Musjid, from the Heights above Lala
Cheena in the Khaiber Pass.]
The Peshawur-Kabul road, 170 miles long, was in 1880 improved and
put in good order. From Peshawur the road gradually rises, and after
7 miles reaches Jumrud (1,650 feet elevation), and 44 miles further
west passes through the great Khaiber Pass. This pass, 31 miles
long, can, however, be turned by going to the north through the
Absuna and Tartara passes; they are not practicable for wheels, and
the first part of the road along the Kabul River is very difficult
and narrow, being closed in by precipitous cliffs.
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