sentences:  The quickest route to Kabul was to march across the Punjab and enter Afghanistan by way of Peshawar and the Khyber Pass, but Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab would never consent to such a large force crossing the Punjab.The invasion route had to be through the southern passes, with the approach to Kabul via Kandahar and Ghazni; a journey three times the distance of the direct route.The Bengal Army, which now numbered some 9,500 men, would march inland towards Quetta after assembling in Ferozpur.