nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47day. Given the semi-independent status of Tribal Territory on both sides
of the frontier, the region has always been a haven for smugglers, opium
traders and militant movements such as al-Qa‘ida, the Taliban, Kashmiri
‘freedom fighters’ and more recently Daesh-isis.
Britain, though, gained a great deal from the Durand Agreement for
the Indian government garrisoned Gilgit, Swat and Chitral, creating a
defensive line against a possible Russian invasion through the Wakhan.
However, the demarcation did not put a stop to tribal uprisings and Indian
forces conducted a series of campaigns against the frontier tribes including
the Mahsuds (1897), Mohmands (1897–8), Waziris (1897) and the Afridis
and Orakzais (1897), all of which extended British authority and control
deeper into tribal territory.
Under the Durand Agreement, the independent mountain region
known as Kafiristan was included within Afghanistan, despite many Kafirs
regarding the Mehtar of Chitral as their titular sovereign. The Kafirs were
the largest surviving pagan enclave in the Muslim world, whose religion
and culture had strong affinities with ancient Indo-Aryan cults. 44 The
region was particularly famous for its carved wooden images of deities
A Kafir wood carving
of the goddess Disani,
National Museum
of Afghanistan, as
displayed in 1971.
The Kafir images
were smashed by the
Taliban but were later
carefully restored by a
team led by Professor
Max Klimburg.