nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47Kabul, forcing Dost Muhammad Khan and his court to flee to Chahar
Asiyab, but despite this Wazir Akbar Khan succumbed to the plague. He
was in his early thirties and in accordance with his last will and testament
his body was sent for burial to the shrine of Shah-i Mardan in Mazar-i
Sharif, a decision that led to rumours concerning Dost Muhammad Khan’s
ambitions to reassert his authority over this independent region. It was a
fear that would soon prove to be justified.
Following Akbar Khan’s death, the Amir decided it was time to break
the power of Akbar Khan’s father-in-law, Muhammad Shah Khan, head of
the Babakr Khel Ghilzais. Muhammad Shah had played a major role in the
sieges of the Kabul cantonment and Jalalabad and subsequently assisted
Akbar Khan to take control of Kabul and the Bala Hisar. However, his
very power was a threat and now that Akbar Khan was no longer alive to
protect him, Dost Muhammad Khan set out to curtail it.
Muhammad Shah, informed by sympathizers of the Amir’s intentions,
fled to his stronghold of Badiabad in Laghman, while the Jabbar Khel
raided caravans on the Kabul–Jalalabad road. Dost Muhammad Khan set
out for Nangahar to supervise operations in Laghmanat in person, and
after pacifying the Jabbar Khel by restoring state payments for safe passage,
the Amir marched up the Alishang river. It took nearly two years before
Badiabad fell, only for Muhammad Shah to retreat into the high mountain-
ous region of what was then known as Kafiristan, from where he raided the
A typical house in the lower Kunar valley. The Safis and Mohmands, who are the dominant
populations here, frequently caused problems for central government.