nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47A group of Jabbar Khel Ghilzais from Khak-i Jabbar. In the 1830s and ’40s the Jabbar Khel
were a powerful warrior tribe who controlled the old Kabul–Jalalabad highway. Stories of
their ancestors’ battle with the British are still told, though the details are often garbled.Khak and took up positions on the Siyah Sang hills. South of the Kabul
river, the Old City and Hashmat Khan was held by forces loyal to ’Amin
Allah Khan Logari and ‘Abd Allah Khan Achakzai, backed by the Bayat
Qizilbash and the mullahs of the Old City. As for Khan Shirin Khan and his
Jawanshir Qizilbash in Chindawal, they initially adopted a neutral stance
in the whole conflict.
The siege of the cantonment and the British military responseBoth Royalists and Muhammadzais attempted to negotiate a face-saving
withdrawal of British forces that was in their favour, while at the same time
meeting with their rivals to discuss an anti-British alliance. One outcome
of these discussions was that Nawab Zaman Khan agreed to recognize
‘Abd Allah Khan Achakzai as commander-in-chief of all rebel forces in
Kabul, though this arrangement did not last for long. In an attempt to
force Macnaghten to the negotiating table, Nawab Zaman Khan’s forces
harassed the cantonment occupants with sniper fire and stormed the two
q a l ‘as, which contained most of the army’s munitions and supplies. The
loss of the commissariat meant that there was only three days’ supply of
food and fodder left in the cantonment and the fighting men were put on
half rations, while non-combatants were left to fend for themselves. By