afghanistaninvasion of southern Afghanistan, as well as the chance of incorporating
Qataghan’s formidable cavalry into his army.
Saighan and Kahmard quickly submitted and Mir Muhammad Amir
Beg, son of Qilij ‘Ali Beg, who had succeeded his father as Mir Wali of
Khulm, came into Akram Khan’s camp and renewed his oath of loyalty.
Following his father’s death, Murad Beg of Qataghan had forced the Mir
Wali into subservience, so Amir Beg anticipated that with the help of the
Muhammadzais he could restore Khulm’s preeminence. However, instead
of attacking Qataghan, Akram Khan marched on Bukharanheld Balkh
and forced Ishan Sudur and Ishan Uraq to accept Durrani suzereignty.
Following these victories, Murad Beg of Qataghan tendered his submis
sion too and for a few months the northern frontiers of Dost Muhammad’s
kingdom extended as far as Aqcha in the west to the borders of Badakhshan
in the east.
In early March 1839 Dost Muhammad Khan, hearing of the advance of
the British army, recalled Akram Khan only for the march back to Kabul to
end in disaster. Fodder, fuel and food were in short supply, the Shibar Pass
was snowbound and the troops crossed it in the teeth of a blizzard. When
the survivors reached the headwaters of the Darband river, they found it
was a raging torrent and, while crossing its icy and fastflowing waters,
many more men drowned or died from exposure. By the time the remnant
of Akram Khan’s army straggled into Kabul in early April it was no longer
a fighting force. Thousands of men and pack animals had died and most of
the survivors were suffering from snow blindness, frostbite and hunger. To
cap it all, Akram Khan had abandoned all his artillery. These losses signifi
cantly affected Dost Muhammad Khan’s ability to resist the British invasion
and further undermined his position with army commanders, tribal lead
ers and the Qizilbash. Criticism of the Amir’s policy had increased in the
wake of the failure of the Burnes Mission, especially because he had offered
to accept Sikh sovereignty over Peshawar, abandoned the jihad and failed
to secure any military, financial or political advantage from the British
mission. Subsequently many senior officials and military commanders
openly criticized the Amir’s decision to mount a winter campaign north of
the Hindu Kush and questioned his judgement as commander of the army.
The Army of the Indus and the occupation of southern AfghanistanBy the time Akram Khan returned to Kabul the Southern Field Force
had reached Baluchistan and was preparing to march on Kandahar.
Commanded by General Sir Willoughby Cotton, this task force consisted