View source for Malakand Pass

{{short description|Mountain pass in Pakistan}}
{{more refs|date=January 2021}}
[[File:Malakand Tunnel.jpg|300px|thumbnail|Malakand Pass Tunnel]]
The '''Malakand Pass''' ({{langx|ps| درہ ملاکنډ}}; {{langx|ur|{{nq|درۂ ملاکنڈ}}}}) is a [[mountain pass]] in the [[Malakand District]] of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] that connects [[Peshawar]] with the [[Chitral District]].

The pass road begins at [[Dargai]], which is 150 km the north-west from [[Islamabad]]. It then slopes upward towards the tunnel, reaching the areas of Swat and Dir. From the top of the pass, Swat Canal descends through the valley. The Canal was built by the [[United Kingdom|British]] in the colonial era to channel water from the [[Swat River]] through Malakand Pass to the plain areas around [[Mardan]]. 

The Pass is a wide open road and is well-structured but sometimes it may get extensively trafficked. 

At the top end, it is guarded by the '''Malakand Fort''' from which it descends through the [[market town|bazaar]] of [[Batkhela]], with a [[Hindu]] [[Hindu Shahi|Shahi]] [[fort]] perched above it. After this, it continues to reach the headworks of the Swat Canal to the Swat River. At the bottom end, it meets the plain areas of Mardan and the [[Charsadda District, Pakistan|Charsadda District.]]

==History==
{{see also|Battle of Malakand Pass}}
The pass came into prominence in 1895 during the [[Chitral Expedition]], when Pashtuns opposed a stout resistance to Sir Robert Low’s advance over the Malakand Pass in 1895 to the relief of Chitral.

During the frontier risings of 1897, the [[Swatis (Pashtun tribe)|Swatis]] made a determined attack on the Malakand, where 700 were killed, and on the adjacent post of Chakdara, where 2000 were killed. This was the origin of the Malakand Expedition of the same year.<ref>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Malakand Pass |volume=17 |page=460 |inline=1}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=August 2023|reason=requires a proper reference}}

==See also==
*[[List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Pakistan]]
*[[List of forts in Pakistan]]
*[[List of museums in Pakistan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Mountain passes of Pakistan}}
{{coord|34|35|N|71|57|E|display=title|region:PK_type:pass_source:GNS-enwiki}}{{Castles in Pakistan}}
[[Category:Malakand District]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]