The Kyhber Rifles: From British Raj to Al Qaeda

Still recruited from the Pathan tribes that live in the no-man's land between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Khyber Rifles continue to stand guard over this area, one of the world's most volatile borders. For more than a century these gallant poachers turned gamekeepers fought for the British Raj against their own kith and kin, but to date nothing has been written about their key role in Britain's struggle to dominate the North-West Frontier. Jules Stewart tells the incredible story of Colonel Sir Robert Warburton, the man who raised the Khyber Rifles in 1878, and describes the Khyber Rifles in action, in particular in the 1897 Frontier uprising and the Third Afghan War. In 1947, Pakistan gained its independence and the Khyber Rifles took on new duties, amongst them pursuing drug smugglers and terrorists. In the past two years they have been actively involved in the war against Al Qaeda and the opium trade. Most recently they set up the first permanent military presence in the forbidden tribal territory of Tirah, to seal the border against Al Qaeda militants and eradicate the opium trade.