reform and repression, 1901–19Mujadidi, Hazrat of Shor Bazaar, and Shaikh Najm al-Din Akhundzada,
known as the Hadda Sahib or the Hadda Mullah. In return for not contest-
ing the succession, Nasr Allah Khan was appointed as na’ib al-sultan, or
regent, to ’Inayat Khan, the heir apparent, as well as commander-in-chief
of the army, head of Treasury, Revenue and Internal Affairs, and Minister
of Education. He also had responsibility for tribal affairs and established
Afghanistan’s first Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Another powerful figure in Habib Allah Khan’s government was Sardar
‘Abd al-Quddus Khan, a descendant of the Peshawar sardars. He had been
one of Amir ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan’s most effective generals and had the
title of ‘Etimad al-Daula, Pillar, or Confidence, of the Nation. It had been
mostly due to ‘Abd al-Quddus Khan that the Kabul army swore the oath
of loyalty to Amir Habib Allah Khan, and it was he who brokered the
power-sharing arrangement between the Amir and Nasr Allah Khan. In
return, ‘Abd al-Quddus was appointed as Lord Chamberlain and head
of the Amir’s inner council. From 1905 onwards he was also in charge of
Anglo-Afghan relations.
Sardar Nasr Allah
Khan, Habib Allah
Khan’s uterine
brother and leader
of the Islamic, anti-
Westernizing faction
at court.