afghanistanShortly after Burnes’s death, Lal recommended Macnaghten send a dele-
gation to Khulm to broker a power-sharing deal with Muhammad Akbar
Khan, even to the extent of offering to restore Dost Muhammad Khan
to the throne. Macnaghten rejected Lal’s advice, a misjudgement that
he would later regret, for the day after the debacle on Tepa-yi Behmaru
Akbar Khan rode into Kabul at the head of 6,000 of the Mir Wali’s Uzbeks
cavalry. Nawab Zaman Khan, who had suffered particularly heavy losses
in the battle, was in no position to prevent Akbar Khan taking charge of
the Barakzai forces, overriding his complaint that since the sardars had
nominated him as king, Akbar Khan had no right to usurp his authority.
Akbar Khan and MacnaghtenNawab Zaman Khan had adopted a conciliatory approach to the British,
offering to negotiate a safe withdrawal of British forces in return for the
abdication of Shah Shuja‘ and presumably hoping for British recognition
as the king or Amir. Akbar Khan, on the other hand, adopted a much
harder line, for he bore a personal grudge against Burnes and Macnaghten
for the humiliation his father had suffered as a result of the failure of the
Burnes Mission. Now that he had the upper hand, Akbar Khan was deter-
mined to inflict equal pain and humiliation on his British adversaries. He
dismissed Nawab Zaman Khan’s negotiators, appointed his own trusted
envoys and sent them to Macnaghten with a list of demands that were
tantamount to unconditional surrender. All British forces must be with-
drawn from Afghanistan as soon as practicable and all the army’s artillery,
muskets, ammunition and baggage must be surrendered. Before leaving,
Macnaghten had to give a written undertaking that Britain would release
Dost Muhammad Khan and allow him to reclaim the throne. To ensure
this promise was fulfilled a number of British officers would remain as
hostages and be released only after Dost Muhammad Khan reached Kabul.
Shah Shuja‘ and his family, too, must be handed over. Akbar Khan then
threatened that if the British rejected his demands he would storm the
cantonment and no one within its walls could expect any mercy.
Macnaghten rejected Akbar Khan’s terms outright, declaring he would
rather decide the issue on the battlefield. However, Akbar Khan knew time
was on his side, for the bitter Kabul winter had set in and the lack of food,
fodder and fuel would eventually force the British to accept more or less
any terms they were offered. Rather than storming the cantonment, Akbar
Khan tightened the blockade and burnt the bridge over the Kabul river to
prevent any attempt to escape to the Bala Hisar. His men then harassed