nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47of radical and xenophobic pirs and ‘ulama’ was reinforced. All trust in
British diplomacy had evaporated and the bitter memories of Burnes’s and
Macnaghten’s missions and intrigues and broken promises led to succes-
sive governments refusing to allow any British envoy or representative to
reside in Afghanistan. This xenophobia, however, was not just an Afghan
phenomenon. The deaths of Burnes and Macnaghten and the massacres
and mutilation of the dead and dying gave rise to the British Imperial
perception of the ‘barbarity’ of all Afghans, most famously ‘celebrated’
in the poetry of Rudyard Kipling, such as his ‘The Young British Soldier’:
When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An’ go to your Gawd like a soldier.At least from Dost Muhammad Khan’s point of view Kabul was
no longer a battlefield since Akbar Khan, backed by his father-in-law
Muhammad Shah Babakr Khel, controlled the Bala Hisar and most of the
capital. To celebrate his father’s return and his resumption of the Amirship,
Akbar Khan ordered the city illuminated for seven days and tribal and
religious leaders were ordered to come to the capital and pledge their alle-
giance. Dost Muhammad Khan, in an attempt to conciliate rival factions,
pardoned those who had fought against Akbar Khan or who had aided the
British and appointed some of them to his inner council, included Nawab
Jabbar Khan, Khan Shirin Khan Jawanshir, Hafizji and Sher Muhammad
Khan Bamizai. After the British annexation of Peshawar, Dost Muhammad
even gave Sultan Muhammad Khan and Pir Muhammad Khan, the last
of the Peshawar sardars, seats in this inner cabinet. One individual who
was not included in the amnesty was ’Amin Allah Khan Logari. Despite
his advanced years, he spent the rest of his days in prison.
As for Akbar Khan, he was in such a powerful position that Dost
Muhammad Khan had to concede to his demand that he be both wazir
and the heir apparent, despite not being the Amir’s eldest son (see
Chart 4). Akbar Khan’s uterine brothers, Ghulam Haidar Khan, Sher ‘Ali
Khan, Muhammad ’Amin Khan and Muhammad Sharif Khan, were also
appointed to the highest offices of state, a decision that was not welcomed
by the Amir’s firstborn, Muhammad Afzal Khan, and his full brother,
Muhammad ‘Azam Khan. Their resentment simmered away all through
Dost Muhammad Khan’s reign and would eventually lead to another
civil war. The Amir was less tolerant of the Kandahar sardars. After the