afghanistanBeg, the amir of Saighan and a notorious slavetrader who regularly raided
Shi‘a Hazara settlements. When Yazdan Bakhsh got wind of the pact, he
expelled Hajji Khan’s customs officials, confiscated the Qizilbash estates
and took control of Shahri Ghulghula, cutting the trade routes between
Kabul and Balkh in the process. With Bamiyan under siege and Hajji Khan
Kakar’s personal income at risk, Hajji Khan offered Yazdan Bakhsh a share
of the revenues from the customs posts in the Shibar region in return for
allowing his officers back into these settlements. Yazdan Bakhsh agreed, but
Hajji Khan Kakar secretly continued to plot with Muhammad ‘Ali Beg and
increased his power base in Bamiyan by encouraging Kakar and Baluch
tribesmen to settle in the valley, offering them incentives of grants of land.
In the autumn of 1832 Hajji Khan and Yazdan Bakhsh joined forces
and attacked Muhammad ‘Ali Beg, ostensibly to suppress his slavetrading
raids, but secretly Hajji Khan Kakar was luring Yazdan Bakhsh away from
his power base so he could deal with him once and for all. Following the
subjugation of Saighan, Hajji Khan marched down the Kahmard valley.
When they reached the remote settlement of Dashti Safed, Hajji Khan
accused Yazdan Bakhsh of conspiring to incite a revolt among the local
amirs and he was clapped in irons. After being subjected to all kinds of
indignities, he was strangled with a bow string.
Having disposed of this troublesome Hazara, Hajji Khan marched
on Khulm. Murad Beg of Qunduz then submitted to him and ceded
control over Saighan, Kahmard and the Ajar valleys to Dost Muhammad
Khan. Hajji Khan Kakar’s advance into the plains of Balkh, however, was
in defiance of the Amir’s orders. Fearing his incursion might precipitate
a Bukharan backlash, Dost Muhammad Khan recalled Hajji Khan and
restored the territories to Murad Beg. When Hajji Khan returned to Kabul,
he was disgraced and exiled to Peshawar, where he ingratiated himself with
Dost Muhammad’s halfbrothers.
Britain, the Sikhs and Shah Shuja‘ al-Mulk’s bid to regain the throneAnother reason for Hajji Khan’s recall was a report that Shah Shuja‘ was
planning another attempt to regain the throne. In the autumn of 1832 Shah
Shuja‘ wrote to Lord Bentinck requesting an advance of a year’s stipend to
fund his campaign, but he was informed that Britain remained neutral in
the dynastic conflict between the Saddozais and Barakzais. At the same
time, Bentinck did not specifically disapprove of Shah Shuja‘ alMulk’s
plan but merely stated that the exking was ‘master of his own actions’.
Wade eventually persuaded Calcutta to advance Shah Shuja‘ 16,000 rupees