The Outlook at Cabul in February—Appointment of Mr. Lepel Griffin to be
Chief Political Officer—Abdur Rahman Khan in Badakshan—Nek Mahomed
in Turkistan—Probable Movements of the Two Sirdars—Biography of
Abdur Rahman Khan—His Struggle with Shere Ali—Takes Refuge with the
Russians in Turkistan—Sir Richard Pollock’s Estimate of his
Character—His Relations with the Russians—Biography of Mushk-i-Alam,
the _Moollah_—His Power over the Tribes—Mahomed Hasan Khan’s
Life—His Russian Proclivities—Asmatullah Khan and the Northern
Ghilzais—Daoud Shah’s Career—Serves under Akhbar Khan and Shere
Ali—Reasons for his Deportation to India.
It would be scarcely worth while to reproduce letters which dealt
chiefly with current rumours of Mahomed Jan’s movements, and I will
therefore only give extracts sufficient to make clear the course of
events. Our Governor of Kohistan was never able to get beyond Baba Kuch
Kar, and Mahomed Jan’s agents in Logar, Wardak, and Maidan were
constantly heard of. Writing on February 1, I said:—
It seems likely that we shall have to visit Ghazni, which is now the
head-quarters of the malcontents, unless some declaration of policy by
the Home Government puts an end to our occupation of Cabul. General
Roberts has asked for the heavy battery to be sent up from Peshawur, and
with three 40-pounders and two 8-inch howitzers, we could batter the
Ghazni fortress about the ears of its defenders. In Sherpur the guns
captured from the enemy in October are being tried, and a certain number
found serviceable are being put in order. Some garrison artillerymen
from Peshawur are being sent up, and will form our garrison battery
here.
The political dead-lock remains unchanged. Our policy of “benevolent
inactivity” has not altogether pleased some of the local sirdars, who
are nothing, if not place-hunters. They have seen Wali Mahomed made
Governor of Cabul, and no doubt it was expected that positions of
“trust” would be assigned to them. But they have been disappointed, and,
in return, have vented their anger and disgust by posting four or five
seditious placards on the walls of the city. The tenor of these was to
point out how much better off the people were under the old Amirs than
under General Roberts, whom they accuse of sinning “through foolishness
and ignorance”—perhaps of their own personal wants. Such abuse hurts no
one, and can have but little effect upon the popular mind, for there can
be no mistake as regards our leniency towards Cabul itself. The
appointment of Mr. Lepel Griffin to be Chief Political Officer here has
been announced by the Government of India, and has given general
satisfaction in cantonments, as the political work now done by the
General will be minimized, and his hands will be free to deal more fully
with matters purely military. One thing is fervently desired, and that
is that Mr. Lepel Griffin will come with a programme of policy in his
pocket, as it is too aggravating to have a General and his army in the
unpleasant position of a ship at sea without orders: liable to be
knocked about by every gale that blows, and yet without any port to make
for. The best crew in the world would grow discontented under such
circumstances. We have had our buffeting, and have weathered it, and now
we should like fair weather and clear instructions as to our future
destination.
_16th February._
It is rather difficult at present to follow the movements of Abdur
Rahman Khan, whose name now is oftener in men’s mouths than that of any
other Afghan chief of importance. As I predicted, Abdur Rahman seems
likely to play a leading part in Afghanistan, and his reported arrival
in Badakshan shows that his influence may be felt upon local politics at
any moment. We have always had much trouble in getting news of Turkistan
affairs; and though we heard from European telegrams that Abdur Rahman
had been dismissed by the Russians, and had started to try his fortunes
again in Afghanistan, we could not gain trustworthy reports of his
arrival south of the Oxus. Once, it is true, he was said to be at Balkh;
but no confirmation of the report was forthcoming, and it was soon
disbelieved. Now, at last, we have new accounts of his movements.
Merchants in Cabul have received letters from agents at Balkh, in which
it is distinctly stated that the exiled son of Mir Afzul Khan is in
Badakshan, with 3,000 Turcomans, and is preparing to make good his
claims to the Amirship. Without jumping to any rash conclusions, it may
be possible to explain clearly enough the train of circumstances which
have brought Abdur Rahman once more to the front. The death of Shere Ali
and the accession of Yakub Khan might have tempted him to make another
effort for the throne; but without the assistance and countenance of
Russia he could scarcely hope to be successful. To raise an army money
is needed; and though the Russians were considerate enough to pay the
exiled prince a liberal pension, they were too anxious to keep on good
terms with England to subsidize a pretender to the Amirship just when
the Treaty of Gundamak had been signed. Abdur Rahman may have been
convinced, also, that Yakub Khan would never be strong enough to carry
out the treaty, and that his downfall, either at the hands of his own
subjects or of the British, would leave Cabul open to other competitors.
The massacre of our Envoy, the march of Sir F. Roberts’s force upon
Cabul, and the dispersion of the rebel army, followed each other so
rapidly that the country was paralysed, as far as active resistance
went. The flight of Nek Mahomed (uncle of Abdur Rahman) to Russian
territory was the signal for the collapse of the Afghan army, and
doubtless the fugitive General warned his nephew that, to attempt any
campaign while the British were posing as the protectors of Yakub Khan
and the conquerors of Cabul would be little short of madness. Besides,
if Yakub Khan were to be reinstated, and his rule made secure by a new
British alliance, rebellion against him would be full of danger. That,
in case of certain contingencies, a plan of action was arranged between
Abdur Rahman and Nek Mahomed would appear certain; and it is
half-suspected that Russian sympathy was freely extended to them, and a
hint given that practical aid would also be afforded when the plan was
ripe for execution. They were waiting upon Providence; and the first
reward for their patience was the deportation of Yakub Khan to India on
December 1st, and the assumption by the British of the temporary
sovereignty of Cabul. The Amirship thus became vacant; and Abdur Rahman,
as the son of Mir Afzul Khan, eldest son of Dost Mahomed, could fairly
lay claim to the throne. Yakub Khan’s son was a mere child; there was no
one of any great influence in the British camp who could hope to be
successful as Amir; and who so likely to be welcomed by the people as
Abdur Rahman, a favourite alike with the army and the tribes? The
_jehad_ preached by Mushk-i-Alam, and the temporary success of Mahomed
Jan’s army at Sherpur, must have more than ever convinced the exiles
that their chance had come and their plan might be put to the test. What
that plan was can only be judged by after-events; but its broad outlines
seem to have been the raising and equipping of a body of Turcoman horse
and the crossing of the Oxus at two points. Abdur Rahman directed his
steps towards Badakshan, where his wife’s kinsmen are in power; while
Nek Mahomed passed into Turkistan by the Kilif ferry, fifty miles
north-west of Balkh. Abdur Rahman’s force is said to have been 2,000 or
3,000 Turcoman horsemen; and his treasure-chest, by native report,
contained 12 lakhs of rupees in Bokhara gold _tillahs_ when he crossed
the river. Nek Mahomed’s escort is also made up of Turcomans; and his
object seems to be to gain over Gholam Hyder, Governor of Turkistan,
while Abdur Rahman raises levies in Badakshan. A powerful combination
would thus be formed north of the Hindu Kush; and by the spring, which
brings with it the melting of the snows and the opening of the Passes
about Charikar and Bamian, the pretender to the throne should have under
his orders a well-equipped and numerous army. Perhaps the most important
work to be done before Abdur Rahman could move out of Badakshan was the
gaining of Gholam Hyder’s co-operation. In a letter written two months
ago I showed that the Governor of Turkistan really held only the country
south of the Oxus between Aebak and Akcha; a Kirghiz chief having raided
into the districts west of Akcha, while the Khan of Kunduz (120 miles
east of Balkh) was supreme in the hill-country between Aebak and
Badakshan. Gholam Hyder’s power lies mainly in his possession of one or
two field batteries, and in having under his orders several regiments of
cavalry and infantry, many of whom are well-armed with rifles made on
English patterns. From reports which have reached Cabul it would appear
that he was very uneasy when the fact of Abdur Rahman’s and Nek
Mahomed’s presence to east and west of him became known. He was at first
doubtful of their intentions, and, as a precautionary measure, massed
his cavalry and guns at Mazar-i-Sharif, one march south-east of Balkh.
In the meantime Abdur Rahman, with the aid of his 12 lakhs (of which it
is shrewdly suspected that at least half was given to him as a subsidy
by the Russians), was making it clear in the eyes of the Badakshanis
that his new expedition was something more than a visionary attempt to
regain Cabul. One of his wives is a daughter of Jehandar Shah, late Mir
of Badakshan, whose son now governs at Faizabad, the capital of this
northern province. So successful has Abdur Rahman been, that he has not
only won over the Badakshanis, but also the Khan of Kunduz, who has
offered him help in his new venture. Rumour also states that Gholam
Hyder has cast in his lot with the pretender, and that an amicable
meeting between their forces is to take place at Mazar-i-Sharif. Of
course it is possible that affairs have not run so smoothly as
represented; but still native rumour is wonderfully correct as a rule,
and the appearance of Abdur Rahman is a new and most important factor in
the Afghan problem. He has with him Ishak Khan, son of Sirdar Azim Khan,
who was Amir for a short time when Shere Ali’s fortunes were at their
lowest ebb. I have before spoken of Abdur Rahman’s popularity, and his
soldierly qualities are universally acknowledged. What his future plans
may be can only be conjectured. The timid and characterless sirdars we
have now with us are rather alarmed at his approach, and their
uneasiness is, perhaps, justifiable. Probably, in the spring, he may
march an army from Balkh through Khulm, Aebak, and Saighan to Bamian, or
he may try the more easterly route over the Hindu Kush to Charikar and
Kohistan. What our course of action will be in such a case I am not
prepared to say; but that Abdur Rahman may yet be Amir of Afghanistan is
quite within the range of possibility. But for the fatal taint of
Russian influence which it is only fair to suppose has affected his
character during his stay in Tashkend, he would make a nominee whom we
could trust, for his ability is beyond question.
The following is a short sketch of his life—a life which has been stormy
even for an Afghan prince. His father was Mahomed Afzul Khan, eldest son
of the Dost Mahomed; but on his mother’s side he has Populzai blood in
his veins. In 1863-64, when the death of the Dost had rendered the
throne vacant, Afzul Khan, as eldest son of the deceased Amir, objected
to his claims being set aside in favour of his younger half-brother,
Shere Ali, and soon the country was in a state of civil war. Abdur
Rahman was placed by his father in charge of Takhtipul, in Turkistan,
and showed some genius as a soldier, but was eventually obliged to
confess himself beaten by Shere Ali’s forces. He made a half-hearted
submission, and, being suspected of still intriguing in favour of his
father, was summoned to Cabul. This order he refused to obey; but,
dreading the consequences, fled across the Oxus into Bokhara, where many
other sirdars had taken refuge. Turkistan was still very unsettled, and
Abdur Rahman induced many of the garrison of Balkh to desert Shere Ali
and cross into Bokhara. The Amir of that Khanate openly espoused his
cause, and aided him in many ways. With a small, but well-equipped,
force he at last recrossed the Oxus and made for Akcha, then in charge
of Faiz Mahomed Khan. The latter, finding himself unequal to any
successful resistance, threw over Shere Ali and united his garrison with
the force from Bokhara. The Governor of Turkistan, Fateh Mahomed Khan,
was not so easily won over, and resisted the new army. His soldiers,
however, proved faithless; and, leaving them to continue their own
course of action, he fled from Turkistan. Abdur Rahman thus found
himself, in a few weeks, at the head of a fairly powerful army; and,
pushing on to Takhtipul, he resumed his old position as Governor.
Turkistan had thus fallen easily into his hands, and so striking was his
success, that he resolved upon a march to Cabul. His uncle, Azim Khan, a
man of some ability, joined him; and Shere Ali, still having with him
Afzul Khan, a prisoner, was forced to leave his capital. On the 24th of
February Abdur Rahman entered the city without opposition; but he had
still to deal with Shere Ali, who was collecting an army in the South.
In May the two armies came into collision at Sheikhabad, on the Ghazni
Road, and Abdur Rahman gained a complete victory. His father was
released, and was proclaimed Amir in place of Shere Ali. But Afzul Khan,
a confirmed drunkard, was but a weak and incapable ruler, and his
brother, Azim Khan, practically held all power in his hands. Abdur
Rahman then, full of energy and flushed with success, tried to
counteract his uncle’s schemes; and the quarrel might have widened into
a serious breach between the two had not the presence of Shere Ali, with
a second army at Candahar, made it imperative to sink all differences
before a common danger. Uncle and nephew again took the field, and
marching southwards through Ghazni, met and defeated Shere Ali’s army at
Khelat-i-Ghilzai. This was on the 16th of January, 1867. But opposition
still had to be encountered, Faiz Mahomed, half-brother of Shere Ali,
having raised another army in support of the ex-Amir’s cause. Abdur
Rahman was again successful in his military operations, defeating Faiz
Mahomed at Kila Allahdad on the 17th September, 1867. But, while thus
fighting with invariable success for his father, he had to meet the
designs of his uncle, whose ambition was to be himself Amir. Afzul Khan
died in Cabul while his son was absent with the army; and when Abdur
Rahman returned to the capital, he found his uncle, Azim Khan, in
possession of the throne. The old quarrels broke out afresh, Abdur
Rahman naturally feeling aggrieved that, after all his successes, the
Amirship had slipped through his hands. Again fresh complications in
Turkistan saved an open rupture: Abdur Rahman started for the northern
province and tried to subdue the Usbeg chiefs. In this he was
unsuccessful, the Mir of Maemena, a district between Balkh and Herat,
sturdily resisting all attack, and eventually forcing Abdur Rahman to
fall back upon Takhtipul. The absence of the young soldier in the north
had been Shere Ali’s opportunity. His forces were successful in Western
Afghanistan, and he was soon _de facto_ Amir. Abdur Rahman’s position in
Turkistan then became untenable; his soldiers, hearing that Shere Ali
was once more in possession of Cabul, lost heart and deserted; and in
January 1869, in conjunction with Azim Khan, he was once more a
fugitive. After Azim Khan had appealed to the Indian Government for
help, and had been refused, the two sirdars sought refuge in Persia, and
afterwards, in the trans-Oxus Khanates. Azim Khan died in October 1869;
and Abdur Rahman, still entertaining his idea of regaining Cabul, went
to Khiva. Here his intrigues to raise a force with which to conquer
Afghan-Turkistan met with such slight success that he turned his steps
to Bokhara. Living as a refugee in that Khanate was Jehandar Shah,
ex-Mir of Badakshan. This chief had heartily aided Afzul Khan in his
struggle for the throne, and to cement the alliance had given his sister
in marriage to Azim Khan, and his daughter to Abdur Rahman. Shere Ali,
in August 1869, induced the Badakshan sirdars to depose Jehandar Shah,
who was imprisoned in his own capital of Faizabad. He persuaded his late
subjects to grant his release, and crossed the Oxus to Kulab, where
Abdur Rahman joined him. Their intrigues to gain possession of Badakshan
were on the basis of raising a force of Turcomans on the north, while
the Mir of Maemena, with an army of Usbegs, co-operated with them from
the west through Balkh and Kunduz. The want of money was a great
obstacle to success, and Abdur Rahman conceived the idea of supplicating
aid from Russia. While Jehandar Shah went to Chitral, to seek aid from
Aman-ul-Mulk, chief of that country, Abdur Rahman left Bokhara for
Samarcand, and reached Tashkend in May 1870. General Kaufmann received
him hospitably, but was deaf to all his appeals for troops to aid him in
conquering Afghan-Turkistan. A pension of about £5,000 sterling was
assigned to him, but a refusal was given to his request to visit St.
Petersburg and represent his case to the Czar. When Schuyler saw him he
expressed a confident belief that with £50,000 to raise and equip an
army he could once more make himself supreme in Afghanistan. With this
one idea in his mind he was saving nine tenths of his pension, and
hinted that, under favourable conditions, he might be aided by Russia.
Jehandar Shah, after raising an unsuccessful insurrection in Badakshan
in 1878, joined his son-in-law at Samarcand in 1875, but has since died.
Of Abdur Rahman’s character I have spoken in a previous letter; and the
following estimate of his ability by Sir Richard Pollock, late
Commissioner of Peshawur, is worth quoting as somewhat confirming my
view. Sir Richard Pollock writes:—“Abdur Rahman was well thought of as a
soldier and commander when in charge of the army, but showed less talent
for administrative work. He has now lost all his possessions, both at
his home and his place of refuge, and has no resources by which he could
collect a party. Without help as to money or arms, he could do nothing.
If supplied with money by Russia or Bokhara, and promised a backing, he
might attempt to recover his position. Probably, such an attempt would
be unsuccessful, if made in the Amir’s (Shere Ali) lifetime. If later,
after the Amir’s death, and when Turkistan had Mir Alam Khan as
Governor, or some equally corrupt, incapable person, the issue might be
in Abdur Rahman’s favour, as far as Turkistan is concerned. On the
Amir’s death such an attempt may be looked upon as likely, unless a good
Governor should previously have taken Mir Alam’s place. Abdur Rahman’s
influence has already declined rapidly, and fortune is never likely to
favour him again to the extent it did when he was fighting for Azim and
Afzul. There was strong sympathy on the part of the nation for the elder
sons, who had been set aside by the Dost in favour of Shere Ali Khan.
Besides, the King of Bokhara afforded assistance, which he is not likely
now or later to give.” This memorandum was written before the breach
between Shere Ali and the Indian Government; but its remarks are still
applicable. Abdur Rahman seems, without doubt, to have been supplied
with means by the Russians, and he has an “incapable person” Governor of
Turkistan—Gholam Hyder; so that it would not be unlikely if he possessed
himself of the northern province in a few months. The old sympathy in
his favour may once more be revived, and we could scarcely dispute his
authority, unless we were prepared to begin a campaign _viâ_ Bamian in
the spring. If Abdur Rahman is ambitious enough not only to claim
Turkistan, but Cabul also, we shall either have to meet his forces in
the field, or to offer him the Amirship and our support in the future.
Whether he would prefer England to Russia yet remains to be seen.
What Abdur Rahman’s relations have been with the Russians—and, perhaps,
still are—may be judged from a letter, written in May 1878, by Shahgassi
Sherdil Khan, then Governor of Afghan-Turkistan. He says:—
“Mirza Salahuddin, whom I deputed towards Samarcand and Tashkend to
collect news from those directions, has returned and made a statement,
to the effect that the Russians intend to induce Abdur Rahman Khan to
submit to them a petition, setting forth that he has been putting up
there a long time under the protection of the Russian Government; that
he has often petitioned them to help him in securing the restitution
of his ancestral territory from the Amir of Cabul, but his prayer has
not been acceded to; and that he has now heard that the Russians are
preparing to fight against the British Government; that they have sent
envoys to wait upon the Amir to request him to allow passage through
his country to the Russian troops going to India and returning
therefrom, should a necessity arise for such a passage; and that, such
being the case, he offered his services in case His Highness refuses
to grant the request of the Russian Government to capture Balkh with a
small assistance from the Czar, and then subdue the whole of
Afghanistan, which is not a difficult task.”
The conditions are certainly altered now, as Russia is not meditating
any such Quixotic campaign as an advance upon India; but Abdur Rahman
may still be credited with a desire “to capture Balkh with a small
assistance from the Czar, and then subdue the whole of Afghanistan.” In
any settlement we may intend making, it would be folly to ignore his
existence altogether. If we are not prepared to break up his army and
drive him back over the Oxus, we had better give him frankly a chance of
stating his case. He might by judicious management—say the promise of a
large annual subsidy—prove the best man we could place in power as
successor of the incapable Yakub Khan.
While on the subject of biography, I may as well give a slight sketch of
the lives of some of the men who have recently played a prominent part
in Afghan politics. We have been so shut off from Afghanistan for many
years, that, except in a few confidential reports furnished to
Government by officers on the frontier, but little has been made known
of the character and power of Afghan sirdars and chiefs. Even the
_Peshawur Diary_, which has received contributions from men of the stamp
of Sir Richard Pollock and Sir Louis Cavagnari, is a sealed book to all
but a few favoured officials; and as many of the communications to it
are of a secret nature, it would be idle to expect that its contents can
ever become generally known. During our present occupation of Cabul,
Major Hastings, Chief Political Officer, has been able to collect some
data upon which trustworthy biographies have been founded of the chiefs
and others who have been hostile to us. Incidentally, it has been found
that our Afghan friends have some marvellous pedigrees, one old
gentleman claiming direct descent from Adam himself—an ancestor,
perhaps, as respectable—all circumstances considered—as any he could
have fallen back upon. An Afghan genealogical tree is a fearful
instrument of torture to apply to the minds of our young “politicals,”
for the same name occurs over and over again generation after
generation, and the weakness of the men for taking wives of varied
nationality causes obscure relationships, which are most difficult to
follow. It would be useless to give genealogies of men who are only of
importance as regards their own acts and personal influence; and in now
dealing with several of the best known names in Afghanistan I shall
merely summarize their pedigrees. The _moollah_ who raised the late
_jehad_ deserves first place, and I will begin with a sketch of his
life.
Din Mahomed, known as Muskh-i-Alam (the “Scent of the World”), belongs
to the Sayids of Hindustan, but his father’s name is unknown. His
ancestors were Khwaja Khel, a section of the Lukhan Khel of the Andar
tribe, south of Ghazni. He married and settled in Afghanistan, first
studying under Mahomed Wasil, Kakar, resident of the village of Kala
Ali, in the Shilgarh district, south-east of Ghazni. In the prosecution
of his studies as a _moollah_ he next went to Lughman, and lived in the
house of one Abdul Hakim, a priest, from whom he gained most of his
knowledge. In his zeal for learning he travelled to Peshawur and lived
with Abdul Malik, Akhundzada. Returning to Afghanistan, he again read
with Abdul Hakim for about two years, when his master died, leaving two
young sons. Din Mahomed remained with them for a few years, to protect
their lives and property, and his devotion had its reward. A learned and
influential man, named Mahomed Aslam, Sahibazda, a nephew of the
deceased _moollah_, Abdul Karim, took notice of him, and gave him
shelter, at the same time teaching him all he knew. In course of time
Mahomed Aslam nominated Din Mahomed as his successor. So far his life
had been that of an ordinary _moollah_, one of great simplicity and
occasional hardship. But we now find him showing signs of great zeal and
energy. A war broke out against the Kafiristanis, and he joined Haji Taj
Mahomed Saib, known as Haji Shahid (a descendant of one Haji Mahomed
Said, of Lahore, who had settled in the Surkhrud district of
Jellalabad). Taj Mahomed was killed at Pashgarh, and Din Mahomed carried
his body on his own shoulders to the shrine of Abdul Karim, in Lughman.
Thence he carried it in the same fashion to Taj Mahomed’s own village of
Masti Khel, where he buried it. This devotion caused his name to become
well known in Western Afghanistan, and his fame as a _moollah_ rose
accordingly. He returned to his own part of the country, near Ghazni,
and was for years engaged in teaching others. Nearly all the _moulvis_
of the Cabul and Ghazni districts are pupils of his, and his influence
over such powerful tribes as the Ghilzais, Lughmanis, and Mohmunds, has
been and is very great. The late _jehad_, which was certainly one of the
most successful ever preached in Afghanistan, was due to his summoning
the tribes to arms; and it is worth noticing that, while Sherpur was
being besieged by the tribes in its immediate locality, the Lughmanis,
under Asmatullah Khan, tried to block the Passes, and the Mohmunds made
a diversion on our lower line of communications. Mushk-i-Alam is now
ninety years of age, and has lately shown signs of approaching death.
Ten years ago he was still hale and strong, and took to himself a young
Mohmund wife, who bore him a son, who is still alive, and is called
Abdur Rahman. This son is actually younger than one of his grandsons,
who is twenty years of age. Mushk-i-Alam has two sons, Abdul Aziz and
Abdul Karim, aged fifty and forty-five respectively, and these men are
most active in carrying out their father’s orders, the old man himself
being unable to rise from his bed, except when urgent occasion gives him
passing strength.
A man of great ability, now at enmity with us, is Mirza Mahomed Hasan
Khan, Dabir-ul-Mulk, late Governor of Jellalabad, who is acting as
Mahomed Jan’s lieutenant in Logar, and has shown great zeal in his
efforts to renew the attack upon Sherpur. He is one of three grandsons
of Haji Aka Ashur, called Shamilo Turk-i-Rum. Hasan Khan has long been a
prominent figure in the Cabul Court. He first served as an officer under
Sirdar Gholam Hyder Khan, and, upon the latter’s death, was transferred
to the Amir Shere Ali Khan, whom he accompanied to the Umballa
Conference in 1869. The Amir, on returning to Cabul, appointed him
“Dabir-ul-Mulk,” or Secretary of State, and for several years he was his
sovereign’s chief confidant and counsellor. He was privy to all Shere
Ali’s intrigues with the Russians, and seems to have been a most trusted
agent. Upon the death of Naib Mahomed Aslem, Governor of Turkistan, who
was accidentally killed by the kick of a horse, he was appointed,
conjointly with Eshak Akasi (Shaghassi) Sherdil Khan, Governor of
Turkistan. The Russian Mission soon afterwards arrived on the banks of
the Oxus, and Hasan Khan was deputed to accompany its members to Cabul.
Further, when General Stolietoff started on his return journey, Hasan
Khan accompanied him, and journeyed as far as Tashkend. What his
instructions were from Shere Ali may never be known; but it is
interesting to learn that, during the first campaign in November and
December, 1878, Shere Ali had one of his ministers in Russian Turkistan.
Upon the Amir’s arrival in full flight at Mazar-i-Sharif, Hasan Khan
joined him. Shere Ali had then great hope that the Russians would aid
him, and he sent Hasan Khan, Shere Ali Kandahari, Moollah Shah Mahomed,
and Kazi Abdul Kadir to Tashkend. Their mission was a failure, and they
returned to Turkistan. When news of the Amir’s death reached Tashkend
Yakub Khan recalled Hasan Khan from Balkh, and made him again
Dabir-ul-Mulk. He was afterwards sent to Jellalabad as Governor, and
remained at his post as long as Yakub Khan was in our camp at Sherpur.
Upon the ex-Amir being deported to India, Hasan Khan fled from
Jellalabad, taking with him a lakh of rupees—revenue which he had
collected for his master. He reached Ghazni in safety, and has since
been actively engaged in recruiting for Mahomed Jan. He is a man of
great ability and keenness, and is said to be ready to take any views
which may suit his purpose. This has been shown of late by his sending
in messengers to learn how he would be treated if he made submission to
the British. There is no doubt that at heart he is thoroughly Russian,
his favourite uniform, when in full dress, being that of the Russian
staff. In any dealings we may have with him, it will behove us to be on
our guard against this side of his character. He has two brothers; one
Ali Ahmed Khan, a colonel in a cavalry regiment, and the other Mahomed
Ibrahim Khan, once Governor of Hazara. He has seven sons, who are as yet
of no consequence.
A tribal chief, who, on the Jellalabad side and about the Passes has
given us great trouble, is Asmatullah Khan, Ghilzai, of Lughman. He has
far more influence among the Ghilzais than any other leader, Padshah
Khan being a very small person compared with the Lughman chief.
Asmatullah Khan’s family history affords a striking instance of the
feuds which are so common in Afghanistan, where father fights against
son, and brother against brother, as if ties of blood were of no
consequence. Asmatullah Khan’s ancestors are of the Mariam Khel, a
subdivision of the Jabbar Khel section of the Ghilzai tribe. They are
called Mariam Khel, after the name of the mother, Mariam corresponding
to the scriptural Miriam, just as Ibrahim answers to Abraham and Ismail
to Ishmael. In the year of the Hejira 1157 (A.D. 1740), when Ahmed Shah
was Amir, Safa Khan, who had succeeded his father, Ashak Khan, as chief
of the Mariam Khel, was dispossessed of his Khanship owing to heterodoxy
in his religious views. His nephew, Mahomed Ali Khan, succeeded him. But
about A.H. 1184, when Taimur Shah was King, it was found that this man
was such a tyrant that he also had to be thrust out of power. Taimur
Shah was anxious for Safa Khan to resume the Khanship, and he did so;
but, on the day of his resumption of power, Mahomed Ali Khan murdered
him. Taimur Shah seized the assassin and imprisoned him; but, as it was
a blood-feud, would not put him to death. It was necessary that a near
relative of Safa Khan should kill Mahomed Ali, and this pleasant duty
fell upon Ahmad Khan, son of Safa Khan. He was a mere boy at the time;
but, as his elder brothers were away, he was fortunate enough to be the
executioner. He killed his uncle, Taimur Shah handing the man over to
him, and was greatly respected thereafter as being a youth of good
parts. After Taimur Shah’s death, Ahmad Khan became very intimate with
the Wazir, Futteh Khan, and through his influence was made Khan of the
Ghilzais. He met his death at Herat, fighting against the Persians. His
son, Abdul Aziz Khan, succeeded him, but being quite a youth, the new
Khan entrusted the control of the tribe to his uncle. Abdul Aziz, who
was devoted to his religion, had born to him during his Khanship six
sons. He was most anxious to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, but was
prevented for many years by the elders of his tribe. Taking the matter
at last into his own hands, he managed to reach the Ahmadzai and Zurmut
country east of Ghazni, and thence escaped to Arabia. He reached Mecca
safely, but on a visit to Medina was seized with a fatal illness, which
put an end to his wanderings. His eldest son, Niamatullah Khan, became
chief of the clan, and was a very popular ruler. Two of his younger
brothers, Abdul Hamid and Halim Khan, tried to dispossess him of his
inheritance, and some petty fighting followed. The family seem always to
have been in a rabid state of parricide or fratricide; and in the month
of Ramzan A.H. 1277 Hamid Khan killed Niamatullah Khan. The second son
of Abdul Aziz, the present Asmatullah Khan, then became head of the
Ghilzais, and still remains so. During the Amir Shere Ali’s reign he was
a member of the Council of State. Asmatullah Khan’s character is thus
curtly summed up:—“He is said to be dull, or slow of understanding, and
wanting in pluck; he owes his influence more to his birth than to his
capacity.” The half-hearted way in which he attacked Jugdulluck a few
weeks ago, and his inability to keep his force together, prove that he
lacks courage and administrative power, and now that one of our flying
columns has marched unopposed through the Lughman Valley, his dignity in
the eyes of his followers must have greatly diminished.
My last biographical sketch is of General Daoud Shah, late
Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan army, who is now a prisoner in India.
His father, Mahomed Shah, was of the Lakhan Khel, a branch of the Andar
tribe of Sohak Ghilzais (south of Ghazni). Like Nimrod, he was a great
_shikari_; but not content with the killing of beasts, he quarrelled
with his neighbours most persistently, and was never happy unless
engaged in tribal warfare. He lived in the village of Mandi Chinar, in
the Safi district of Tagao; and upon the British invasion of 1839 he
eagerly took up arms against the Kafirs. His career was ended in a fight
before Charikar, in which our troops were successful in beating the
tribesmen. His son, Daoud Shah, had his father’s warlike instinct, and
as a young man took service in the army of the Dost. He was Akhbar
Khan’s orderly officer, and gained much experience under that General.
His promotion was very slow, until Shere Ali Khan made him captain for
services rendered at the battle of Kajbaz, in which Sirdar Mahomed Ali
Khan, eldest son of Shere Ali, was killed. Daoud Shah showed great
bravery during the campaign in Khost, and was raised to the rank of
General. He it was who won the battle of Zana Khan, in which Shere Ali
defeated Azim Khan and Abdur Rahman Khan. His fame as a General was now
bruited all over Afghanistan, and his next campaign added to his glory,
as, in conjunction with Mahomed Alam Khan, he defeated Abdur Rahman’s
forces in Turkistan, and settled the country in Shere Ali’s name. Having
quarrelled with Mahomed Alam, he was recalled to Cabul and imprisoned by
Shere Ali. The latter could not afford to alienate so able a General,
and Daoud Shah was soon released, but was given no employment. When
Yakub Khan rebelled against his father, Daoud Shah officiated as
Commander-in-Chief, General Faramurz Khan, commanding the Amir’s armies
in the field, having been killed by Aslam Khan, son of the Dost. Upon
the new settlement of Turkistan, Daoud Shah accompanied Yakub Khan to
Cabul, and reverted again to the rank of General. Upon Yakub Khan’s
second rebellion, an army was again sent to Herat, in which Daoud Shah
was given a command; but Shere Ali, finding that he had no able General
at Cabul, recalled him and entrusted to him the management of all army
affairs in the capital. When the Amir fled to Turkistan, after the
capture of Ali Musjid and the Peiwar Kotal, Daoud Shah was left at Cabul
with Yakub Khan, and he accompanied the new Amir to Gundamak. He was at
the same time made Commander-in-Chief, and this office he held until the
massacre of our Envoy and Yakub’s flight to the British camp at Kushi.
Of Daoud Shah’s conduct during the attack upon the Residency nothing
very exact is known. He was said to have tried, with 200 or 300 men, to
check the mutineers. He certainly rode into the crowd with half a dozen
attendants; but it was then too late, and he was pulled off his horse
and beaten by the mutinous soldiery. He probably dared to take no action
without the Amir’s orders; and these, unfortunately, were not
forthcoming. Daoud Shah favourably impressed most of us with whom he
came into contact, his striking figure and open manner being very
different from the cringing obeisance of the Barakzai sirdars. During
the siege it was deemed inadvisable that he should be at liberty in
Sherpur; and he was, accordingly, placed under arrest. After such
treatment it was, of course, imperative that he should be deported to
India, as, if at first inclined to be faithful to the British, his
imprisonment must have turned him against us. He was undoubtedly the
ablest General in the Afghan army, and his popularity among the soldiers
would always have ensured many thousands of men answering to his call to
arms. He is between forty and fifty years of age, and is still an
active, intelligent soldier.
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