nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47Plan of Kabul and the British cantonment in 1841.sanctuary to Mohan Lal and informed ‘Abd Allah Khan Achakzai that, if
he attempted to seize the munshi, he and his Barakzai clan would declare
war on him.
Despite the fires, gunfire and general uproar, it was not until the follow-
ing day that Macnaghten and Elphinstone were convinced that Burnes
had been killed and that there had been an uprising in the Old City. This
lack of action made the rebels even bolder. The Hazarbashis mutinied and
attacked or killed any British officers they could lay their hands on. In the
end it was Shah Shuja‘ who took the only decisive action, sending a corps
of ghulams, commanded by the Anglo-Indian adventurer and Muslim
convert John Campbell, or Sher Muhammad Khan, to try and save the
British officers. Campbell’s men fought bravely but they suffered heavy
casualties, caught in the crossfire in the narrow lanes, and were forced to
retreat back to the Bala Hisar. The king then sent his eldest son, Fath Jang,
to negotiate with the rebels, only for the prince to urge them to ‘destroy
the infidels’. 29 Shah Shuja‘ next ordered his artillery to bombard ‘Abd Allah
Khan’s house, but he had already left and taken up a forward position in
the q a l ‘a of Muhammad Shah Bayat on the north bank of the Kabul river.
Shah Shuja‘ was thus cut off from the main British force in the cantonment
and, with the Old City and Hashmat Khan in rebel hands, the Bala Hisar
was effectively besieged.