VAKHAN

also spelled Wakhan, or Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region and panhandle in the Pamir Mountains of extreme northeastern Afghanistan. From the demarcation of the Afghan frontier (189596), the panhandle formed a political buffer between Russian Turkistan, British India, and China. It is now bounded by Tajikistan (north), China (east), and Pakistan (south). The Vakhan River flows from west to east through Vakhan for 100 miles (160 km), joining the Pamir River near Qal'eh-ye Panjeh, which is the region's main village.