Mar. 24, 1962 - Two live sheep were presented to Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy today by tribal chieftains at the foot of the historic Khyber Pass in Pakistan. In the custom of the Pakistani Northwest Frontier the wife of President Kennedy touched the heads of the sheep with her right hand. This indicated that she had accepted the animals, which were draped in silks and festooned with Pakistani and U.S. flags. The chieftains also gave her a dagger in a silver sheath and a leather saddle blanket. Mrs. Kennedy lunched on spiced mutton, curry, kebabs, and curds with officers of a sharpshooting paramilitary unit, the Khyber Rifles. The Khyber Pass was the route that was followed by invaders of the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years. The army of Alexander the Great passed through the pass in 236 B.C. The Turks, the Afghans, and the Persians all came this way. As recently as the 1940s, British military units that then held the pass were the frequent target for sniping tribesmen.
Comments