Ali Masjid Fort

Ali Masjid Fort
علی مسجد فورٹ
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan
1890 painting
TypeFort
Site history
Built1837 (1837)

Ali Masjid Fort (Pashto: د علي مسجد قلا; Urdu: علی مسجد فورٹ) is situated on a high location above Ali Masjid, the narrowest point of the Khyber Pass,[1] in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the north west frontier of Pakistan.[2]

Originally within Afghanistan, the fort was first constructed in 1837 under Emir Dost Muhammad Khan, and was the location for a number of conflicts between Afghan and British-led forces during the 19th century. The fort was captured by the British in 1839 during the First Anglo-Afghan War,[3] and again in November 1878 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War at the Battle of Ali Masjid.[4] In May 1879 the Khyber Pass was ceded to British control by the Treaty of Gandamak, after which the fort was within the British Raj.[5] In 1947 it became a part of Pakistan.

Modern view of the fort
  1. ^ Singh, Sarina (2008), Pakistan and the Karakoram Highway, p. 200, ISBN 9781741045420
  2. ^ Ali Masjid, Lonely Planet
  3. ^ Riddick, John F. (2006). The History of British India. Praeger. p. 43. ISBN 0313322805.
  4. ^ "No. 24672". The London Gazette. 28 January 1879. pp. 409–411.
  5. ^ Treaty of Gandamak, 26 May 1879: text