Are Wakhi Muslims?
The Wakhi are moderate Ismaili Muslims, followers of the Aga Khan. The burka — which is ubiquitous elsewhere in Afghanistan and is regarded by critics as a symbol of women’s oppression — is unknown.
Where is Wakhi?
Wakhi (Wakhi: وخی/В̌aхi, IPA: [waχi]) is an Indo-European language in the Eastern Iranian branch of the language family spoken today in Wakhan District, northern Afghanistan and also in Tajikistan, northern Pakistan and China.
Why is Wakhan in Afghanistan?
The corridor is in part a political creation from The Great Game between the United Kingdom and Russian Empire. In the north, an agreement between the empires in 1873 effectively split the historic region of Wakhan by making the Panj and Pamir Rivers the border between Afghanistan and the Russian Empire.
What is Wakhi Pakistani?
In Pakistan, they refer to themselves as “Wakhi” or “Pamiri” or “Gujali”. The Wakhi predominantly adhere to Nizari Ismaili Shia Islam, which is regarded as their ethnic religion and are followers of the Aga Khan.
Where do the Wakhi people live?
The Wakhi populate the Lower Wakhan, the western end of the corridor, where they live year-round. Often whole families, including aunts, uncles and cousins, live together under one roof. A home full of people helps to keep everyone warm during the harsh Afghan winters, when temperatures drop to -40 degrees.
Has China got a border with Afghanistan?
The Afghanistan–China border is a 76-kilometre-long (47 mi) boundary between Afghanistan and China, beginning at the tripoint of both countries with the Pakistan-administrated region of Kashmir (Gilgit-Baltistan), following the watershed along the Mustagh Range, and ending at the tripoint with Tajikistan.
Who owns the Wakhan Corridor?
Afghanistan and China share a 74km (46 mile) border along the remote Wakhan Corridor, a narrow, inhospitable and barely accessible strip of land, extending about 350km from the far northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan to China’s mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang.
How long is Wakhan Corridor?
217 miles long
The Wakhan Corridor is a panhandle 217 miles long but less than 9 miles wide, ending in Afghanistan’s short border with China that measures just 47 miles across.
When did Pashtuns settle in Afghanistan?
Several Pashtun tribes are known to have moved from Afghanistan to Pakistan between the 13th and 16th centuries, and many Pashtun moved to northern Afghanistan after the formation of the modern Afghan state in the late 19th century.
Can you walk from Afghanistan to China?
The Wakhjir Pass, also spelled Vakhjir Pass, is a mountain pass in the Hindu Kush or Pamirs at the eastern end of the Wakhan Corridor, the only potentially navigable pass between Afghanistan and China in the modern era.