Wakhan Corridor

The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of land in the Pamir Mountains in the far north-eastern Afghanistan which is located between the border with Tajikistan in the north and Pakistan to the south up to a short border between Afghanistan and China extending that ( with the place Mingteke ) in the east. Its length is about 300 km, its width varies between 17 km and 60 km.

History

The Wakhan Corridor is a relic of the Great Game between Britain and Russia for supremacy in Central Asia in the late 19th century. He should form a neutral zone between the reaching up to the Durand Line British India on the one hand and Russian Central Asia on the other.

The corridor is named after the river flowing through it in the eastern part Wachandarja, which joins in the central part of the corridor with the Pamir to the Panj (which itself is one of the headwaters of the Amu Darya is ).

Geography

The Wakhan Corridor is one of the most remote areas of Afghanistan. At its narrowest point, the Panj forms the border with Tajikistan. At this point, one of the least developed regions of the world lies in the immediate vicinity of the comparatively progressive Tajik area with good roads and settlements. On a gravel road can be the corridor of Ishkashim to pass through about two- thirds to the east. After an advancement is similar only with mule caravans possible.

Political Structure

Administratively, the area is the administrative district of Wakhan, which belongs to the province of Badakhshan. The district Wakhan is 11,422 km ² and has around 13,000 inhabitants.