afghanistanwith the Hazrat of Shor Bazaar, the Hadda Mullah and the rebel leader-
ship in Nangahar. These men agreed to Habib Allah Kalakani becoming
military head of a jihad and issued a fatwa denouncing the king and his
government and declaring ’Aman Allah Khan’s half-brother, Hayat Allah
Khan, to be King. According to one source, Hayat Allah Khan himself
attended one of their secret meetings. 57
Habib Allah Kalakani, now transformed from a marauder to a muja-
hid, went on the offensive. In early November 1928 he occupied Sarai-yi
Khoja, cutting the telegraph and electricity lines to the capital. He then
besieged Jabal Seraj. After ten days Ahmad ‘Ali Lodi surrendered the town,
along with its arsenal and treasury, in exchange for safe passage to Kabul
and a share of the cash. Habib Allah Kalakani, with a large sum of cash
now at his disposal as well as a huge store of weapons, including machine
guns and heavy artillery, marched on Kabul. At the end of November he
occupied Qal‘a-yi Murad Beg, on the outskirts of Kabul, where the rebels
halted to perform the Friday prayers. During the service Shams al-Haqq
Mujadidi, who led the prayers, inserted Habib Allah Kalakani’s name in
the khutba and accorded him the grandiose title of Khadim-i Din-i Rasul
Allah, Servant of the Religion of the Apostle of God. King Habib Allah ii,
as he was now officially designated, marched into Kart-i Parwan and on
14 December overran the King’s residence at the Bagh-i Bala, Habibiyya
College, the Military College at Shahr Ara and sacked ‘Abd al-Quddus
Khan’s personal residence. Since most of the Kabul garrison had been sent
to Nangahar only a handful of regiments, mostly conscripts whose pay was
months in arrears, remained in Kabul. Most of them deserted or joined the
rebel army. In desperation ’Aman Allah Khan ordered rifles to be distrib-
uted to ordinary Kabulis. Ahmadzai tribesmen, who were about to leave
to join Loynab ‘Ali Ahmad in Nangahar, promptly turned the weapons on
the king’s troops or sent the guns to Khost.
For nearly two weeks fighting raged in and around Kart-i Parwan with
the newly built British Legation caught on the front line. While Legation
staff sheltered under the billiard table and ran the gauntlet of snipers to
obtain fuel from the woodshed, Humphrys, the British Minister, pipe in
mouth, valiantly turned back bands of rebels and government soldiers who
tried to infiltrate the Legation’s grounds. By Christmas Eve the situation
was such that Humphrys ordered a general evacuation, and over the next
two months 586 men, women and children were flown to Peshawar in
specially adapted Royal Air Force planes in what was the world’s first air
evacuation. 58 In late December ’Aman Allah Khan followed suit and flew
his wives and children to Kandahar.