The reward at the
top, on a brilliant February day, is a view of the Hindu Kush,
200 kilometers (120 miles) distant. The road in the center of
the picture leads down into Afghanistan, where the customs checkpoints
can be seen in the distance. With binoculars, one can see the
containers filled with merchandise waiting to be smuggled into
Pakistan.
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A "smuggler's warehouse,"
where goods smuggled over from Afghanistan are loaded onto the
backs of human "mules" for final transport through tribal lands
into Pakistan. The day we went up, thousands of white-clad men
could be seen carrying piles of boxes on their backs along the
mountain trails near the road.
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