The Khyber Pass the Khyber Pass Is a Narrow, Steep-Sided Pass That Connects Northern Pakistan with Afghanistan

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DiHerentiated Instrudion

The Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass is a narrow, steep-sided pass that connects northern Pakistan with Afghanistan. (A pass is a lower point that allows easier access through a mountain range.) The Khyber Pass winds for about 30 miles (48 km) through the Safed Koh Mountains, which are part of the Hindu Kush range on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Roads through the pass link the cities of Peshawar, Pakistan, . and Kabul, Afghanistan. Because of its strategic location, the Khyber Pass has been a vital trade-and invasion-route from Central Asia to South Asia for centuries. About 326 B.C., Alexander the Great moved his troops through the pass on the way to India. British and Indian forces used it as an entry point for their invasions of Afghanistan during the three Afghan Wars (the last occurring in 1919). Some historians have even theorized that the Aryan people originally migrated to India by going through the Khyber Pass. Today two highways snake through the Khyber Pass-one for vehicles and the other for traditional camel caravans. A railway line also winds through the pass. Recently, the Khyber Pass has been used by refugees from the Afghanistan civil war to get into Pakistan, and by arms dealers transporting weapons into Afghanistan. The people who live in the villages along the Khyber Pass are mainly ethnic Pashtuns. During the Afghan-Soviet War (1979-1989), Pashtuns were important members of the mujahideen. These are Islamic guerrilla groups that fought the Soviets during their takeover of Afghanistan. More recently, Pashtuns have dominated the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group allied with Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization.

Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions. 1. Identifying Name at least two non-Asian nations that have been involved militarily in the Khyber Pass region. 2. Speculating Pakistan currently controls the Khyber Pass. Name at least one way this might be an advantage to Pakistan in its relations with the United States.

41 Teaching Strategies for Different Learning Styles

The following activities are ways the basic lesson can be modified to accommodate students' different learning styles.

Visual/Spatial English Learners (EL) Display in class Lady Elizabeth Butler's Ask students to use a map to identify the painting "Remnants of an Army," and ask countries, cities, and geographic elements students to record their impressions of the referenced in the article. painting. What does it tell them? How does it make them feel? What can they discern about Verbal/Linguistic; Intrapersonal the events leading up to the scene depicted For centuries, the native Pashtun clans of in the painting? Then have them research the the Khyber region have traditionally considered episode depicted, and have them create their the pass to be their personal property, and they own artistic interpretation of the events. have demanded tolls from travelers to ensure safe passage. Such tolls have traditionally been Advanced Learners major sources of income for locals. Ask students Have students research and prepare to assume the role of a Pashtun clansman and papers describing the military importance write a page in their journals defending the of the Khyber Pass. Students can investigate practice of demanding tolls. the role of the Khyber in the campaigns of the Persians (600 B.C.), Alexander the Great, Logical/Mathematical Genghis Khan, Timur (aka Tamerlane), Ahmad The Himalaya and Hindu Kush ranges of Shah Abdali, Mahmud of Ghazni, or the South Asia contain many other passes in addi British in the Afghan Wars of 1839- 1842, tion to the Khyber. Ask students to use library 1878-1880, and 1919. or Internet resources to create a table listing as many passes through these two ranges as Auditory/Musical they can find. Students may use the following Former U.S. diplomat James W. Spain has format for their tables. . observed that "history hangs heavy on the Khyber and has left its mark upon its sombre Connects Fact stone. Ground into dust of the Pass is Per- Name of Mountain Which About sian gold, Greek iron, Tartar leather, Moghul Pass Range Regions? the Pass gems, Afghan silver, and British steel. All have watered it with their blood." Ask students to write a poetic interpretation of Spain's obser vation, based on the article about the Khyber Pass. Kinesthetic Ask students to create accurate relief maps Below Grade Level of the Khyber Pass region using materials of Have students outline the information pre their choice. They should use library or Inter sented on the previous page. Each paragraph net resources to gather information about the can be a main (I, II, III) entry. Students should region before creating their maps. Display determine their own subentries (A, B, C) based students' maps in the classroom. on the content of the paragraphs.