Bolan Pass Balochistan is a high mountain pass at an altitude of 1,793 m (5,884 ft) above sea level in the Balochistan province of western Pakistan. The pass was used as a gateway to and from South Asia.
Bolan Pass Length
Bolān Pass is a valley and natural gateway through the Toba Kakar Mountains in the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. The pass is an 89 km (55 mi) stretch of the Bolan River valley from Rindli in the south to Darwāza near Kolpur in the north. It consists of a number of narrow gorges and sections. It connects Quetta with Sibi by road and rail.
Bolan Pass Balochistan Strategic Importance
Strategically located, traders, raiders and nomadic tribes also used it as a gateway to and from South Asia. The Bolān Pass is an important pass on the Baluch frontier, connecting Jacobabad and Jhang with Multan, which has always occupied an important place in the history of British campaigns in Afghanistan.
Bolan Valley Local Population
The local population south of the pass consists mainly of the Brahvi tribes, who extend from the Bolan Pass to Cape Monze in the Arabian Sea. The ethnic group north of the pass consists mainly of Pashtuns, while to the west there are Baloch.
Bolan Pass Balochistan Location
The Bolan Pass is located in the Toba Kakar Mountains, which lie south of the Hindu Kush Mountains. Bolan Pass is described as a pass through a lofty mountain range that is full of gorges and ravines.
The Bolan Pass Balochistan Mountains are the southern geographic boundary between the Indian Plate and the Iranian Plateau. The southern point of the pass, near Dhadar, is the western boundary of the Indus Valley and is considered a major strategic point between Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and the Arabian Sea.
The Bolan Pass Balochistan is the southern counterpart of the Khyber Pass, and both mountain ranges have historically been used for invasions of the Indian subcontinent. bolan pass balochistan
In 1748, the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded India using the Bolan Pass in addition to the traditional route of the Khyber Pass. The Durrani capital of Kandahar was located near a pass that allowed quick access to the Indian lands. bolan pass balochistan
Bolan Pass Balochistan History
In 1837, threatened by a possible Russian invasion of South Asia through the Khyber and Bolān passes, a British envoy was sent to Kabul to enlist the support of the Emir, Dost Mohammed. bolan pass balochistan
In February 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War, a British army under Sir John Keane took 12,000 men across the Bolān Pass and entered Kandahar, which the Afghan princes had abandoned; from there they would continue their attack and overthrow Ghazni. The pass they chose was not the same as the one used by the modern railway, but further west at Siri-Bolan.
Bolan Pass Balochistan is one of the most famous mountain passes in the world. The pass passes through the Toba Kakar mountain range in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The distance of the pass from the border of Afghanistan is almost 120 km. The coordinates of the pass are 29°45′N and 67°35′E. The elevation of the pass is 1,793.4 m (5,884 ft).
Bolan Pass Balochistan is known for its tactical location. This is why traders, raiders and migrating clans used the Bolan Pass as a gateway to and from South Asia. It is a major pass on the Balochistan border and connects Sibi and Jacobabad with Quetta. This border played a key role in the chronicles of the British Army’s battles in Afghanistan. bolan pass balochistan
Historically, the Brahui of the Kurdish ethnic group command law and order throughout the Bolan Pass area. This ethnic group still lives in the present-day Balochistan province of Pakistan.
In 1837, the British army was intimidated by a likely Russian army to invade South Asia through the Bolan and Khyber passes. Consequently, they sent a diplomat to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, to obtain the patronage of Dost Mohammed, the emir. bolan pass balochistan
In February 1839, under Sir John Keane, a British land force transported 12,000 men over the Bolan Pass and penetrated Kandahar, which had been abandoned by the princes of Afghanistan. From this place they continued their raid and caused the fall of Ghazni. bolan pass balochistan
Sir Robert Groves Sandeman made peace with Khudadad Khan, Khan of Kalat, and secured British command of the Bolan Pass in return for a year’s expenses.
Bolan Valley Railways
From Sibi the track runs south-west, skirts the hills to Rindli, and originally followed the course of the Bolan to its head on the plateau. The destructive action of the floods, however, led to the abandonment of this route, and the railway now follows the valley of the Mashkaf (which empties into the plains near Sibi), and is run from near the head of the Mashkaf to its junction with the Bolan at Machh. bolan pass balochistan
An alternative route from Sibi to Quetta was found in the Harnai Valley to the NE. from Sibi, a line starting exactly in the opposite direction from Bolān and entering the hills at Nari. The Harnai route, although longer, is the one used for all normal traffic, with the Bolan loop reserved for emergencies. At the Khundilani Gorge on the Bolan route, conglomerate cliffs that rise to a height of 800 feet surround the valley. bolan pass balochistan
On Siri Bolan, the passage between the limestone rocks barely fits three people riding side by side. The temperature of the pass is very high in summer, while in winter it is extremely cold near its head and the icy wind rushing through the narrow pass destroys life. From 1877, when the Quetta Agency was established, the pass was manned by the British Indian Army from militias of Baloch tribes (mainly Marris). bolan pass balochistan
