evidence: There are excavated caves near several villages in the Western Pamirs that were used for refuge from slave traders and other marauders; it is said that the Sarikol population of Xinjiang province has its origin in a wave of refugees from such exploitation – many others fled to Chitral and Afghanistan. [...] This strategic road – the ‘Pamir Highway’ as it later became known to tourists – regained significance as a military supply route during the Russian invasion and occupation of Afghanistan 1979–1989. [...] Breu T, Hurni H (2003) The Tajik Pamirs. Challenges for sustainable development in an isolated mountain region. http://www.cde.unibe.ch/CDE/pdf/The_Tajik_Pamirs.pdf. Accessed 06 Sept 2014