nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47the jirga, and who had no desire to see Dost Muhammad Khan return as
Amir or any Muhammadzai rule the country, paid their respects to Shah
Shuja‘. They offered to support him remaining on the throne on condition
he appoint one of Payinda Khan’s heirs as wazir, more than likely Nawab
Zaman Khan. When Lal informed Macnaghten of the meeting, the envoy
replied that he would have no compunction tearing up the 11 December
agreement if there were sufficient forces available to defeat Akbar Khan.
Akbar Khan, though, was astute enough to realize that the treaty had a
sting in its tail and that Macnaghten was trying to undermine his position
and that of his father. He saw this trick as yet further evidence of British
perfidy and, convinced that Macnaghten could not be trusted, Akbar Khan
cunningly set out to turn Macnaghten’s scheme to his own advantage and
to prove to all factions that the envoy was devious, untrustworthy and
treacherous. At the same time, he saw an opportunity to put himself into
an unassailable position militarily and politically.
Under the 11 December agreement, all British and Indian forces had
to withdraw from the Bala Hisar to the cantonment. Once this had been
completed, Akbar Khan and other leaders would be admitted to the Upper
Bala Hisar to meet with Shah Shuja‘ and discuss his fate as head of state.
Akbar Khan realized this arrangement presented him with an excellent
opportunity to seize control of the strongest and best-fortified citadel in
Kabul, depose or kill Shah Shuja‘, and defy all his rivals. To achieve this
goal, Akbar Khan craftily persuaded Elphinstone to allow his men to escort
the troops from the Bala Hisar to the cantonment. Elphinstone agreed
without any inkling of Akbar Khan’s scheme. While the evacuation was
underway, Muhammad Shah Laghmani’s Ghilzais tried to force their way
into the citadel but Shah Shuja‘, possibly warned of Akbar Khan’s plan,
opened fire with artillery from the citadel’s barbican, killing and maiming
dozens of the enemy, as well as a number of sepoys. Consequently, Akbar
Khan had to abandon his attempt to seize the Bala Hisar and Shah Shuja‘
lived to die another day.
The arrival of yet more troops and camp followers exacerbated the crit-
ical supply situation inside the cantonment. Three days later the weather
took a turn for the worse with heavy snow falling throughout the night
and all the following day. Eastern Afghanistan was about to experience its
harshest winter for decades. By this time the agreed date for the evacuation
of Kabul was passed and Macnaghten tried to delay the army’s departure
as long as possible in the hope that he would be able to secure sufficient
supplies for the journey, as well as cut a deal with factions more willing
to compromise.