October 10, 2012
During my visits to Jabban and Malakand's III hydropower sites in 2012, my eyes frequently attract a site of an abandoned check post located on one of the hilltops. It was constructed in the British era.
The Mughals built a fort here, known as Chakdara Fort in 1586, occupied in 1895 by the British, who built the present fort in 1896 and were forced to defend it during the Siege of Malakand in 1897.
The Siege of Malakand was the July 26 to August 2, 1897 siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial British Indias NWFP. The unrest caused by this division of the Pashtun lands led to the rise of Saidullah, a Pashtun Fakir who led an army of at least 10,000 against the British garrison in Malakand. Although the British forces were divided among a number of poorly defended positions, the small garrison at the camp of Malakand South and the small fort at Chakdara were both able to hold out for six days against the much larger Pashtun army.
Chakdara has been an important center for the last 3500 years and is littered with remains of the Gandhara grave culture, Buddhist sites, and Hindu Shahi forts. The ancient route from Afghanistan via Nawa Pass and Swat River crosses Chakdara.
