Afghánistán

Abstract

Afghánistán is a country of Asia lying between parallels 30° and 38° 20′ of north latitude, and 60° 80′ and 74° 30′ of east longitude. On the north it is bounded, roughly speaking, by the river Oxus, from the Pámir to Khamiab, whence the line, as drawn by the Afghán Boundary Commission, runs in a south-westerly direction to Zulfikar, on the river Harí-Rúd, and thence south to Kuh Malik-i-Siyah, a conspicuous peak south-east of the Helmand river. Here the boundary turns round and runs generally eastwardly to the Kwája Amran range. The eastern boundary of Afghánistán is difficult, if not impossible, to define exactly, for though geographically it may be said to march with the north-western boundary of British India, from a political point of view there are a number of tribes inhabiting the Zhob Valley and the Wazíri country, besides the region between the Hindu Kush and the western confines of Kashmír, embracing Káfiristan, Chitrál, Swát, and part of the Indus basin, who own little or no allegiance to the Amír. Extreme breadth from north to south is about 500 miles; its length from the Herát frontier to the Kháibar Pass, about 600 miles. The surrounding countries are, on the north, the Central Asian States, under the influence of Bokhára and Russia; on the west, Persia; on the south, British Balúchistán; and on the east, as already mentioned, the mountain tribes scattered along the north-western frontier of India.