The Pamirs and its people were divided in the later C19th and since then they have been subject to very different administrations. The Tajikistan side were governed by Imperial, Bolshevik Russia and then Soviet administrations from that time until 1992. This continuity permitted road building, educational development, health care provision in this area were per capita average income is less than $300 a year. The Afghan side of the Pyanj was never effectively subjected to rule from either Britain or the British Raj and its recent history continuous to defy any effective development programmes. As we drove down the Pyanj, often less than 50m from Afghan soil, the difference is clear. The road on our side was painfully poor but still able to function between Kholeb and Khorog, as the main thoroughfare for trucks from China to all points west.
Click here to read: http://valerieratcliffe04.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/the-pamirs-afghan-and-tajik-and-ismaili-islam/
Ismailimail 