nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47Dysfunctional relations within the British establishment
and with Shah Shuja‘Macnaghten and Burnes exploited the so-called victory in Kohistan to
accuse Shah Shuja‘ al-Mulk’s wazir, Mullah Shakar, of covertly incit-
ing the revolt and eventually persuaded the king to replace him with
Muhammad ‘Osman Khan. This individual was the son of Wafadar Khan,
Shah Zaman’s sardar-i sardaran, and the man who had been responsible
for the blinding and execution of Payinda Khan. Shah Shuja‘ had other
reasons to distrust ‘Osman Khan, for as a Kamran Khel Saddozai he was
a potential rival for the throne. ‘Osman Khan was also incompetent and
venal, but Macnaghten turned a blind eye to these faults because, as far
as the Envoy was concerned, this appointment was a great coup. Not only
was ‘Osman Khan an inveterate enemy of the Muhammadzais, he was a
sycophant who wholeheartedly supported the British invasion and was an
excellent source of inside information. Every evening the wazir would visit
Macnaghten or Burnes, provide them with a detailed account of events at
court and receive instructions for the following day. As far as Shah Shuja‘
was concerned, Muhammad ‘Osman Khan was little better than a spy.
Macnaghten and Burnes’s intervention over the appointment of the
wazir reinforced the belief that Shah Shuja‘ was king in name only and that
the British were ruling the country behind the scenes. Shah Shuja‘ did not
help this perception by publicly complaining that he had no real power and
sending petitioners to address their grievances to Burnes and Macnaghten.
Neither of these men appeared to have grasped the real dangers such inter-
ference had for the occupation or the sustainability of the regime they had
imposed in Afghanistan. Burnes, in particular, increasingly intervened in
areas that were within the king’s remit, drawing up plans for the reform
of state finances, taxation and the country’s feudal military structures.
More often than not, he made these plans without bothering to consult the
king or his ministers. A similar scenario took place in Kandahar, where
British political officials attempted to reform the administration and drew
up plans for a major overhaul of land tax, which led to tensions between
British political officers and Timur Mirza, Shah Shuja‘ al-Mulk’s son, who
was governor of the region. General Nott even went as far as to flog a
number of Timur Mirza’s officials for allegedly looting army property.
When Auckland reprimanded him, Nott flew into a rage and his relations
with the Governor General and Macnaghten became increasingly bitter.
Nott’s temper did not improve when he was not appointed as
commander-in-chief on General Cotton’s return to India, even though he