afghanistanThe return of ‘Abd al-Rahman KhanIn London the political fallout from the Afghan War contributed to
Disraeli’s decision to call a General Election in early 1880. Lytton, in an
attempt to pacify the war’s more strident critics, removed Roberts from
control of civil affairs and sent Lepel Griffin, Chief Secretary of the Punjab,
to be Political Officer in Kabul with orders to ‘set about the preparation of
a way for us out of that rat trap’. 16 A few weeks later General Stewart, head
of the Kandahar Field Force, replaced Roberts as commander-in-chief of
the army and was ordered to march to Kabul. Stewart was the most senior
officer in Afghanistan, but Roberts was furious at being cut down to size
and was so embittered that he wrote to Lytton informing him he planned
to resign from the army once the Afghan campaign ended.
Lepel Griffin faced the complex task of finding a ruler who was pliant
enough to do Britain’s bidding but who also had the support of at least
some of the main Afghan factions. Roberts had surrounded himself with
Muhammadzais and they naturally told Griffin that only one of their own
lineage was acceptable, a claim he endorsed without question. There were,
however, dozens of potential candidates and Lytton briefly toyed with split-
ting the country up between ‘Ayub Khan in Herat, Sardar Sher ‘Ali Khan,
son of Mehr Dil Khan, in Kandahar and a separate Amir in Kabul. Then a
dramatic change took place in the north that altered the whole equation.
When ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan in Samarkand heard of the death of Sher
‘Ali Khan he asked Russian officials for permission to return to Afghanistan
to claim the throne, but his request was denied. After Ya‘qub Khan’s abdi-
cation and the British occupation of Kabul, however, the Russians had a
change of mind and allowed ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan to return and stake his
claim to the throne. ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan set out for Badakhshan, for the
mir was related to him by marriage, but en route he made a pilgrimage to
the shrine of the famous pir, Khwaja Ahrar, in Samarkand, where he claimed
to have had a vision of the shaikh who told him to take his banner with him
as its presence would ensure victory. Despite this act of sacred theft, ‘Abd
al-Rahman Khan’s campaign did not start well. The mir tried to prevent him
from crossing the Amu Darya, only for ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan to outwit
him and ford the river further downstream. Then, instead of heading for
Faizabad, the sardar marched on Rustaq, crossing a high mountain pass
despite deep snow. When he arrived the garrison defected. A few weeks
later, following a brief battle, the Mir of Badakhshan fled to Chitral.
While ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan took over Badakhshan, Sardar
Ishaq Khan and his two brothers, Muhammad Sarwar Khan and ‘Abd