Babylon to Kot Sultan

 Babylon to Kot Sultan

Dr. Agha Inamullah Khan

Chapter 10

Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar’s Farewell to Afghanistan & forefathers’ link with the Royal Afghan house of Durrani Kings

Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar/Baburi was related to Durrani Kings through his grandfather Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi whose daughters were married to King Timur Shah Durrani & King Shah Zaman Durrani.1 Most of the books reviewed by the author; the historians have mentioned Babar clan as Baburi.

Following Ahmed Shah Abdali (Durrani’s) death at the age of 50 from a malignant wound he had sustained on his nose during the battle in India; the Afghan Durranis encountered power struggles, conspiracies, and succession disputes. His son King Timur Shah Durrani, and the succeeding Kings Zaman Shah and Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk faced challenges from other Durrani princes, during their respective reigns leading to rebellions and power struggles. Since Durrani Empire was a tribal confederation, hence various tribes and factions contended for power and influence, like rise of rival Barakzai tribe; and this altogether further destabilized the Empire. The Empire also faced threats from neighboring powers, including Sikhs who expanded their influence in the Punjab region, and the Marathas who sought to regain lost territories conquered by Ahmed Shah Abdali, ultimately culminating the Empire’s fragmentation and the rise of British influence. The constant internal conflicts and external pressures gradually eroded the central authority of the Durrani rulers, leading to a decline in their power and control. The frequent executions within the empire to crush any uprisings and revolts created more rivalries, and this included the brutal murder of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan’s grandfather Amin-ul-Mulk Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi as well along with many other Amirs and chiefs during the era of King Zaman Shah Durrani. 

Ahmad Shah passed away leaving behind six sons: 1) Timur, 2) Darab, 3) Suleiman, 4) Shahab, 5) Sikandar, and 6) Parwez. Only Timur and Suleiman came to throne, rest were unremarkable. As a second ruler of Durrani Empire, Timur Shah Durrani ascended to throne in 1186 Hijri which corresponds to 1773 AD.5

A research on Babur Tribes in Pakistan, compiled in book “Babur Pashtun Qabeela”, by Dr. Muhammad Hussain Babar; a professor at Gomel Medical College at Dera Ismail Khan reveals Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar’s grandfather Nur Muhammad Khan’s clan was expelled from Afghanistan after the murder of Nur Muhammad Khan. However based on oral traditions passed on from his elders; the author infers that Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi may have instructed his children, and grandchildren to leave Afghanistan in midst of political turmoil, rising mutinies and rebellions against then Shah of Afghanistan; anticipating a bloodshed. But the exact year is still arguable. The other oral traditions passed on in Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan’s clan reveal that Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan was married to King’s daughter, but no one was certain about which King. Based on research of Dr. Muhammad Hussain Babar, Allama Shakoor Rashad and oral traditions in family, the author inferred it must have been King Shah Zaman’s daughter, since from their research it was learnt that Nur Muhammad Khan’s daughter was married to King Zaman Shah Durrani; hence he must have married his cousin. But it created more mystery when the author learnt further that Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi’s elder daughter was also married to King Timur Shah, the historical fact which neither Dr. Hussain Babar or Allama Shakoor came across to have mentioned in their publications. The author learnt this fact from Fayz Muhammad Kitab Hazarah’s published book, “The History of Afghanistan (Fayz Muhammad Katib Hazarah’s Siraj Al Tawarikh by R.D. Mcchesney, M.M. Khorrami) described on page 59 of the book- scanned page no 186. Hence both aunts of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan, were married to King Timur Shah and King Zaman Shah Durrani. 

In his quest to search for his forefathers, the author came across an article, “A Tale of Two Graves” published on October 24th, 2017 by a Sikh Indian Army Rt. Gen H S Panag, who was also his Twitter follower. The author contacted him to learn more and Gen Panag shared the details  about two graves in the courtyard of Ahmad Al-Sirhindi (Mujadid-Alif Sani’s) shrine in Sirhand India, which most people in India thought were the graves of “Badshah and  Begum”, among many graves of other Afghan nobles. Gen Panag told the author he lived only 1.5km behind that Mzaar (Shrine), and that he was surprised that even Khalifa of Dergah had no knowledge about those two graves in the same complex, and that even Khalifa thought they were husband and wife. Gen Panag shared he had been visiting the Mzaar since mid-1950s and that he had first heard it as folklore, but later read referenced in a number of books that the two graves were of King Shah Zaman and Wafa Begum; wife of his brother King Shah Shuja-ul Mulk. Since the author initially was also under the impression that King Shah Zaman was father in law of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan, hence he thought it was something mystical for Amir Sultan Muhamad Khan’s father in law to have found that place for his burial in that Shrine, and equally upsetting also ; a murderer of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan’s grandfather who expelled their whole clan under royal decree, to have found such a peaceful holy place. However Wafa Begum was a loyal wife to Shah Shuja ul- Mulk and very wise and brave woman. Ahmad Al-Sirhindi Mujadid-Alif Sani was a key figure in the revival of Islamic orthodoxy, and Sufism in the Indian Sub-continent, and his followers are spread out in Sindh, including Shikarpur where Faqir-Ulla-Alvei follower of same Naqshbandi order in Sufism rests. The lineage of Sirhindi of Matiari district is connected to the broader Naqshbandi-Mujadid tradition, which traces its origins back to Ahmad Sirhindi. The author’s paternal grandmother’s brother Ghulam Nabi with poetic title ‘Agha Sufi’, a renowned Sufi poet, a homeopath, dramatist, Script writer, musician, Sufi singer of his times in Shikarpur from Durrani Clan took his initial religious lessons from Agha Hassan Jan Sirhindi. Gen Panag recommended author to review William Dalrymple’s book ‘Return of the King’. 

William Dalrymple in his book, “Return of a King, THE BATTLE FOR AFGHANISTAN” mentions of Wazir Painda Khan Barakzai who had harsh argument, and got angry with then King Zaman Shah in 1799 AD, and had been plotting a Coup d'état within the palace to bring in King Shah Zaman’s younger brother Shah Shuja to throne. King Shah Zaman blundered by having Painda Khan and some other chiefs killed, which later resulted in King Zaman Shah being deposed by his half-brother Mahmud Shah in 1801, and even blinded. Zaman Shah died in exile in Ludhiana India5 

The author’s uncle Late Agha Khalid Khan Babar revealed to him once that the year of advent of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar to Shikarpur, Sindh, was 1790 AD; which Late Agha Khalid Khan Babar had read mentioned on the inside leaf of the hard binding of a copy of the Quran with the Qazi clan who accompanied Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar from Afghanistan along with Syed Habash Shah and his clan. No note book could have been better than Quran to diary that important date for remembrance. The author’s mother received her Quranic lessons from the house of same Qazi clan as well in Kot Sultan. Besides Qazi clan and Syed Habash Shah’s family, Sultan Muhammad Khan was accompanied by his brothers Daraq Khan, Daroon Khan, Shaheen Khan, Maheen Khan, and cousin Yasin Khan who later established Garhi Yasin, a taluka in present day Shikarpur, as revealed to the author by his maternal grandfather late Haji Muhammad Nawaz Khan. The author in his childhood had seen remnants of ruins of Kot Shaheen in forest, west of Sultankot. Haji Muhammad Nawaz Khan was fourth in the progeny of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan, and some of these oral traditions have been passed on for generations. Haji Muhammad Nawaz Khan also recalled telling that when Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan came from Afghanistan, his son Muhammad Rahim Khan was a grownup boy, who had grown peach fuzz (thin line mustache). Haji Muhammad Nawaz Khan’s brother Late Agha Ghulam Nabi Pathan-paternal uncle to author’s parents shared with him that Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan was married to grand-daughter of King Ahmed Shah Abdali and she is buried beside Sultan, in Syed Habash Shah grave yard in Sultankot. 

Dr. Muhammad Hussain Babar writes; that initially Amin-ul-Mulk/Lord Treasurer Noor Muhammad Khan was deposed, and later hanged, and then his body chopped in pieces to teach a lesson to other uprising rebel. Later whole Khandan of Amin-ul-Mulk Noor Muhammad Khan was forced to deport from Afghanistan in 1799 under the royal decree issued from the court of King Zaman Shah Durrani who also happened to be his father-in-law; contrary to the year of migration communicated by the author’s uncle Agha Khalid Khan Babar. The current existing generation of Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar in Sultankot had no idea about their family tree beyond Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan until research work of Dr. Muhammad Hussain was not published in 2013, in his quest to search for Babar diaspora in Pakistan. The reason may have been purposeful silence adapted by Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan consequent of events that led to his migration to ensure his and his clan’s safety, or may be the rest of the generations did not find it important to pass it on to their children. The extensive research of Dr. Muhammad Hussain Babar, reveals Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar to be son of Sardar Ghulam Haider Khan, who was son of Nur Muhammad Khan, and Nur Muhammad Khan was son of Gul Muhammad Khan. The written document on genealogy (Shujra) of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan was shared by the author with Dr. Muhammad Hussain Babar. Dr. Hussain Babar also mentions on page 104 that Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan purchased 50,000 acres of Agriculture land on Dost Wah, near Sultankot in 1795 which was endorsed through Seanad issued by King Zaman Shah.

Wikipedia reveals, Gul Mohammad Khan Babar belonged to the Gora Khel sub-tribe of Babars and that he used to live in Kandahar; where he was the chief of the Babar tribe and even the member of the Loya Jirga, in the era of Mirwais Khan Hotak.6 He is often referred to as Mirwais Nika (Grandfather) and is renowned for his role in Afghanistan’s struggle for independence from Persian rule. Whereas chief of Abdalis was Zaman Khan Abdali who was also Governor of Herat Province and father of Ahmed Shah Abdali. Mirwais Khan Hotak was a key figure in Afghan history, who led a successful revolt against the Safavid Empire and established an independent Hotak dynasty in Kandahar. And during this war between Safavids and Afghans, Ahmed Shah’s father Zaman Khan Abdali and grandfather both were killed, and young Ahmed Khan Abdali fled to south to take refuge in Kandahar with the Ghaljis/Ghilzai. During his teenage years, he along with his elder brother, Zulifqar Khan, were imprisoned by Hussain Hotak, son of Mirwais Hotak the last Ghaljis ruler of the Hotak dynasty.10 The Hotak dynasty ended when his son Shah Hussain Hotak was killed by Nadir Shah’s forces during the siege of Kandahar in 1738. Nader Shah was an Iranian conqueror, who with execution of Hotak, ended their rule in Persia which encompassed Afghanistan including Kandahar. Initially Hussain Hotak was exiled to Mazandaran, where it is presumed that he and his family were later killed. Ahmed Khan was released by Nader Shah of Khorasan, who made him to lead 4,000 Abdali soldiers, the main reason being Ahmed Khan’s family background and the fact that Ahmed Khan and Nader Shah both were from historical Khorasan region.10 Ahmed Shah was trustworthy and very brave General of Nader Shah Afshar who was elected to be the first Afghan King after murder of Nadir Shah Afshar. Gul Muhammad Khan Baburi was also Amin-ul-Mulk/Lord Treasurer/Finance Minister for the short time during the reign of Ahmed Shah Durrani. Gul Muhammad Khan the great-grandfather of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan, is also remembered most for his participation in the Third Battle of Panipat along with Ahmed Shah Abdali against Marathas in India.

About Nur Muhammad Khan Wikipedia writes that he served and helped his tribesmen in Shikarpur, Multan and Chaudhwan and it was his efforts that earned Babar tribe an exemption from taxes and compulsory recruitment in the army during the Durrani Empire. And that sadly, in AD 1798, Nur Mohammad Khan Babar was murdered on the order of Zaman Shah Durrani, who was his own son-in-law and the Shah of Afghanistan. Contrary to Dr. Babar’s claim of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar to be son of Sardar Ghulam Haider Khan, as learned from research of Allama Shakoor Rashad in Kandahar, Wikipedia writes Sultan Muhammad Khan to be son of Behrose Khan Babar who was governor of Jalalabad during reign of Timur Shah Durrani. Allama Abdul Shakoor Rashad was a Kandahar born, a professor of Pashto language at the Faculty of Language and Literature at Kabul University. He knew 6 languages including Hebrew, a researcher and writer who has authored 105 books and hundreds of articles.

Wikipedia also writes about Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan’s daughter married to Prince Fateh Jung, son of Shah Shuja Durrani, and quoting it to be reason for Sultan Muhammad Khan’s close ties with Shah Shuja Durrani, and that Shah Shuja Durrani stayed for many months with Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan in Sultankot, who also helped him in his last attempt to ascend to throne of Afghanistan in 1838, soon after which British conquered it.

Dr. Muhammad Hussain Babar shared with the author in a face to face discussion, that during his research on Babar diaspora; he contacted an elderly from Jalalabad; Hakeem Ali Baburi aged more than a hundred years who had settled in Japan after escaping for safety, during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Hakeem Ali Baburi  shared with Dr. Hussain Babar that he had heard from his ancestors in Jalalabad, that one Baburi tribe was expelled from Afghanistan, and that they live in some Kot in Sindh. Hence Dr. Babar linking the historical facts in history considers without any doubt; that Kot to be Kot Sultan/Sultankot. He also mentions of probable reason behind Kinship of the Durrani King Shah Shuja with Shikarpur; to be the blood relationship with Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan. He records from Allama Shakoor Rashad’s publication; that King Shah Shuja Durrani’s son Prince Fatah Jang was married to Ilm Bibi; the grand-daughter of Fathah-Ullah Khan Babar who was step brother of Nur Muhammad Khan. Allama Rashad while writing the genealogy of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan has mentioned Fathah-Ullah Khan Babar to be grandson of Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi. Dr. Babar in his book on Babar Qabeela; further writes on page 107, about Shah Shuja’s affinity for Shikarpur, quoting an event when in 1816 Prince Timur son of Shah Shuja Durrani travelled from Dera Ghazi Khan to Shikarpur, the Pathan Sardars from Shikarpur; Sardar Juma Khan Barakzai, Sadaat Khan Alkozai, Madad Khan Popalzai including Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar from Sultankot in Shikarpur went to receive and welcome him. Dr. Babar records about 100 Ghora Khel families travelled along with Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan from Afghanistan to Shikarpur. And the probable reasons why Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan preferred to stay in Shikarpur were; Shikarpur being the bordering close vicinity to Afghanistan, Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan’s grandfather Noor Muhammad Khan’s close ties with Talpurs of Shikarpur, and earlier Babar settlements in 1779 of the Babar soldiers who were loyal to Noor Muhammad Khan and had settled in Garhi Yasin town of Shikarpur who came during the invasion of Shikarpur by Timur Shah Durrani.

In Sindh during that era when Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan migrated, the renowned Sufi poet and mystic, and a prominent figure in Sindhi literature Sachal Sarmast was alive, and Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai the great Sufi Saint and icon in Sindhi poetry and literature had passed away more than three decades earlier. Shah Abdul Latif’s ancestors had emigrated from Herat in Afghanistan, to Sindh in 14th century. Herat is argued to be the birth place of first Pashtun Monarch Ahmed Shah Abdali and not Multan as some books quote. Other notable Sufi poets like Faqir Qadir Bux Bedal, Sufi Saint Hazrat Bhudhal Faqeer in Shikarpur, or King of Kaafi (Poetry) Syed Misiri Shah were not born yet. Some of the Babar Pathans of Sultankot were followers of Hazrat Bhudhal Faqeer. 

The Talpurs in Sindh had already taken over from Kalhora in 1783, after defeating them at Battle of Halani, and established their dynasty which was by then only 07 years old. The Kalhora dynasty before Talpurs in Sindh was under the suzerainty of the Durrani Empire after Sindh was conquered by Ahmed Shah Durrani in 1748-1750, prior to which they were rulers under the Mughal Empire. Ahmed Shah Durrani made Kalhora rulers vassals of the Durrani Empire. (1) At Battle of Halani Mian Izzat-yar Kalhora who was the ambassador at the Afghan Court, secured Afghan authorization and baking for the battle and marched with 30,000 troops, including 10,000 Baburi & Durrani Afghans sent by King Timur Shah Durrani. Dr. Muhammad Hussain Babar quotes that figure to 12,000 in his book on Babar Tribe History. But Talpurs emerged victorious. Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur was confirmed as the ruler of Sindh by then Afghan King Timur Shah Durrani, after he was recognized as the leader by the general populace. (2) The lower Sindh was ruled from the Hyderabad city by Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur, other brothers Mir Thara Khan Talpur ruled upper Sindh from city of Khairpur Mirs, and Mir Sohrab Khan ruled the eastern city of Mirpur Khas, and a fourth was based in Tando Muhammad Khan.

As a second ruler of Durrani Empire, Timur Shah Durrani ascended to throne in November of 1772 after his father King Ahmed Shah Abdali’s death. At the completion of the formalities of the coronation, his Highness King Timur Shah fulfilled the expectations of his Amirs with gifts of magnificent robes of honor (khil‘ats), disappointing no one. Those who had held office under his father; his highness Ahmad Shah; were left in their former positions. After a short residence at Qandahar in which his authority gained luster, and he fully resolved all matters of concern to that city; he left for Kabul to spend the summer there and to put affairs there to rights. After winning a battle in Kabul, and some executions of conspirators, he rewarded his faithful companions. He awarded honorary title “Sarfraz Khan” to Sardar Painda Khan Barakzai, and title “Madad Khan” to Delaware Khan Ishaqzai. Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi (Babar/Babur) the grandfather of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar obtained the post of Sahib-i kar – sort of Manager of the protected territories, and was given the title “Amin al-Mulk” and sometimes lord Treasurer.3 

The title “Amin-ul-Mulk” translates to guardian of the Kingdom in Arabic. It signifies a position of trust and responsibility within a Kingdom or empire. The exact gradation and scope of the position varied in specific context. However it generally implied to a person entrusted with the safekeeping and administration of the realm’s affairs. Sardar Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi, Amin-ul-Mulk, was grandfather of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan as per research of Dr. Muhammad Hassan Babar on Babar tribes in Pakistan & Afghanistan.

Padshah-i-Ghazi (King) Timur Shah had eighteen wives from whom he had several daughters and 56 sons. His eighteenth wife being a Sindhi; daughter of ruler of Sindh Hayat Khan Kalhora. His 10th wife was daughter of Sardar Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi (Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan’s aunt). His highness Timur Shah admitted the daughter of Amin-ul-Mulk Sardar Nur Muhammad Khan to the corps of ladies of the royal harem. The “Corps of ladies of the royal harem” refers to the female residents of the harem, a private and secluded part of a palace or household in some Islamic and pre-Islamic societies, where the wives, concubines, female relatives, and female servants/maids of a ruler or the Emperor lived.3

William Dalrymple in his book, Return of a King, THE BATTLE FOR AFGHANISTAN”, further writes about the figure of King Timur’s sons to be twenty-four, and about the succession struggle that followed his death; with all the competing claimants energetically capturing, murdering and maiming each other which resulted in the process of undermining the authority of the Durrani monarchy and that under Timur Shah's eventual successor, Shah Zaman, the Empire disintegrated. After his father Timur Shah’s death, Zaman Shah had ascended to the throne in 1793. 

Fayz Muhammad Katib Hazarah’s Siraj Al Tawarikh translated by R.D. Mcchesney, M.M Khorrami under caption “The History of Afghanistan”- writes on page 100, that on ascending to the throne, Shah Zaman moved all those who he thought were unhappy with his coronation including princes and their allies, to the Bala Hisar citadel and imprisoned them including his younger brother Prince Shah Shuja-al-Mulk; whom he commanded that although he had not reached the age of maturity but he still held the right to keep him in custody, and that he wanted him to live in the court than elsewhere. Shah Zaman summoned the Amirs as well who backed him, and bestowed Titles on them. He retained the title of Amin-ul-Mulk of Sardar Noor Muhammad Khan Baburi/Babur; grandfather of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar. He also took his daughter’s hand in marriage which was his fifth wife, and thereby Sardar Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi achieved the honor of becoming the Shah’s father-in-law but only to end up choosing a cruel fate for himself. He was also father-in-law to his highness Timur Shah. Shah Zaman was Timur Shah’s fourteenth son from his fourth wife; a lady from Saddozai clan.10 Amin-ul-Mulk Sardar Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi since His Highness Timur Shah’s time had been supervisor of all the Daftars (offices) and Divans (Administration) and was also chief of 4,000 Ghulam (Slaves). His daughter was the lady of Shah Zaman’s harem. (4) Later, the conspiracies, and unjust executions on his orders of some Durrani, Babar and Barakzai chiefs, fueled the rebellion against him.

The Durrani Empire, also known as the Afghan Empire, controlled most parts of modern-day Afghanistan, the areas now comprising Pakistan, and northwestern India. The East India Company primarily controlled the Bengal Presidency (including Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa), and the Madras and Bombay Presidencies, along with areas gained through military conquests and treaties, like Deccan and northern regions, however the majority of the Indian sub-continent remained under the control of various princely states and other powers. 

In 1797 AD, Shah Zaman, like his father and grandfather before him, decided to revive his fortunes and fill his treasuries by ordering a full-scale invasion of Hindustan - the time-honored Afghan solution to cash crises. Encouraged by an invitation from Tipu Sultan, he descended the switchbacks of the Khyber Pass, and moved into the old monsoon-weathered walls of the Mughal fort of Lahore to plan his raid on the rich plains of north India. However, India was increasingly coming under the sway of a frighteningly alien intrusion into the region: the East India Company. Under its most aggressive Governor General, Lord Wellesley, the elder brother of the future Duke of Wellington, the Company was expanding rapidly out from its coastal factories to conquer much of the interior; Wellesley's Indian campaigns would ultimately annex more territory than all of Napoleon's conquests in Europe. India was no longer the source of easy plunder for the Afghans that it once was, and Wellesley was a very cunning adversary. He decided to thwart Shah Zaman, not through direct force of arms, but through diplomatic stratagem. In 1798 AD, he sent a diplomatic mission to Persia, offering arms and training, and encouraged the Persians to attack Shah Zaman's undefended rear.

It had been Napoleon’s long-standing obsession to impoverish Britain by seizing its influence in India. He desired to invade India from Egypt after landing his troops at Alexandria on 1 July 1798 AD. Napoleon’s envoy From Cairo wrote a letter to Tipu Sultan of Mysore, full of desire of releasing him from the iron yoke of England. General Malartic, the French Governor of Mauritius, even issued a proclamation seeking volunteers to assist Tipu Sultan. But Napoleon’s position was weakened in the region in his defeat at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 AD, which ultimately thwarted any immediate French support for Tipu Sultan. Despite continued efforts, Tipu Sultan on 4th May 1799 AD, was killed fighting the British who were supported by the army of their ally; the Nezam of Hyderabad. Napoleon’s strategy changed after British naval commander Admiral Nelson sank almost entire French fleet at the battle of Nile on 1 August. So Napoleon now hatched plans to attack India through Persia and Afghanistan for which he required diplomatic support in both of these territories. A treaty with the Persian Ambassador had already been concluded. Napoleon's Ambassador to St Petersburg, was instructed to take the idea forward with the Russians. It took British intelligence only a further six weeks to obtain the exact wording of the secret clauses, and these were promptly forwarded to India. With them went instructions for the Governor General, Lord Minto, to warn all the countries lying between India and Persia of the dangers in which they stood, and to negotiate alliances with them to oppose any French or Franco-Russian expedition against India. 

Back in Afghanistan Shah Zaman marched and counter-marched trying to maintain his fracturing empire.  It was Ranjit Singh who would slowly prize the lucrative eastern provinces of the Durrani Empire from his former overlord and take his place as the dominant power in the Punjab. Shah Zaman was forced to retreat in 1799, and in the process left Lahore under the governorship of a capable and ambitious young Sikh. Rajah Ranjit Singh had helped Shah Zaman save some cannon lost in the mud of the River Jhelum during the chaos of the Afghan retreat, and by charming the Shah, and impressing him with his efficiency, he was given charge of much of the Punjab, although he was only nineteen years old. That same year 1799 AD, Painda Khan, had harsh argument and got angry with Zaman Shah. Painda Khan was the patriarch of the Barakzai, had been wazir – the Prime Minister - to Shah Shuja's & Shah Zaman’s father Timur Shah. He was the king-maker responsible for bringing Shah Zaman to power on Timur Shah’s death in 1793 AD. The differences further widened and within few months Shah Zaman discovered that his Wazir had been plotting a Coup d'état within palace to bring in his younger brother Shah Shuja to throne, and to protect the interests of the old nobility. 

 The Murder of Prominent Durrani, Barakzai & Baburi Sardars 

This unfortunate incident  occurred as a result of the arrogance and vanity of Rahmat Allah Khan Saddozai, the son of Fata Ulla Khan. After the death of his father, he had become a regular attendee at court through the good offices of Sardar Painda Khan who had given him a free entry to the court, which other prominent notables were not happy about, and always tried to block him and advised Painda Khan his mentor that this man will be cause of trouble but Painda Khan would smile and say, “What does he have the power to do?” In the end, it turned out as the others had said. Gradually, Rahmat Allah Khan attained the position of chief advisor (wazir and mukhtar) for all matters of the regime and began to show his cunning side by treating other Sardars with contempt, especially Sardar Painda Khan; his mentor. He showed no one any esteem nor did he listen to anyone’s advice. And he did nothing to act on the concerns of the great Amirs, forcing them to go en masse to the shah to complain. But there too they would not receive the answer they wanted to hear. Subsequently, they decided what the solution was; and that was unanimously agreed upon to eliminate Rahmat Ulla Khan, depose King Shah Zaman and bring in Shah Shuja to the throne. According to the Tarikh-i Sultani, they went to the mosque (‘ibadahgah) of Miya Ghulam Muhammad Hindustani who had come to live in Qandahar and to whom most of the Amirs were bound by the ties of discipleship; was the place where secret meeting took place. All of those present at the meeting, including Sardar Painda Khan “Sarfraz Khan”, the “Amir of Amirs;” Islam Khan, Zabt-Begi; Hikmat Khan Sarkani; Muhammad ‘Azim Khan the son of Mir Hazar | Khan Alkozai; Amir Aslan Khan; Jafar ‘Ali Khan Jawanshayr; the eunuch, Yusuf ‘Ali Khan; Mirza Sharif Khan, a Munshi; including Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi; the grandfather of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar, and others swore solemn oaths on the Quran, and decided what each one’s responsibilities would be. They set the next day as the time to take action and told Sarfraz Khan to summon the Barakzai people from the countryside. On Thursday, the plan was that when Rahmat Allah went hunting out by his kariz-canal which lay two kuruhs east of Ahmad Shah City and is now known as Tur-i Wazir, Muhammad ‘Azim Khan Alkozai would follow and kill him. Amir Aslan Khan Jawanshayr with other bodyguards of the shah were then to arrest the shah. So everyone set himself to fulfilling his part in the conspiracy. Sardar Painda Khan summoned all the Barakzai while Amir Aslan Khan and his companions, all armed to the teeth, stood ready to act. But before the plot could be carried out, Mirza Sharif Munshi went to Rahmat Allah Khan with Ahmad Khan Barakzai and told him what was going on. He immediately took the two men to the shah to tell him about the plot. Rahmat Allah did not go hunting and spent a very anxious night. The next morning he presented himself before the shah who, at his suggestion, then called the Amirs one by one to the citadel on the pretext of some matter of interest. When they were all inside, he locked the citadel gates and put them to death. Shah Zaman made the biggest blunder of murdering not just the Wazir Painda Khan, but all the ringleaders, most of whom were senior tribal leaders including Amin-ul-Mulk Sardar Noor Muhammad Khan Babar. This bloodshed feud opened a fracture in the Afghan political class which soon widened into the chasm of a civil war. 

The brutal execution of Noor Muhammad Khan Babar could not leave Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan safe even as far as Shikarpur which was under rule of Durrani Empire; and he was extra cautious to the level, that even after the fall of Durrani Empire, and when Barakzai took over the reins of Afghanistan; who had sent an envoy to Amir Sultan khan inviting him to return to Afghanistan but Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan turned down the offer fearing it could be a plot. Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan had already left Shikarpur, as he felt insecure and was living in his own erected mud fort called Kot Sultan ; present day Sultankot. The author from his elders heard, Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan mimicked insane to leave an impression on Barakzai envoy that he had become psychotic in order to avoid a return to Afghanistan. Hence the envoy did not convince him further. But Hakim Khan Baburi from Japan recalls that one person named Baloch Khan from Nur Muhammad Khan’s clan that had settled with Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan accepted the offer from Barakzai, and left for Afghanistan where Amir Abdul Rahman Barakzai; Waali of Afghanistan allotted him prime land near Jalalabad; which exists in the center of modern-day Jalalabad city and is famous as ‘Babar street’. Dr. Babar’s research reveals these Babars to be from sub-tribe of Babar; the Gora-Khel Babars from the progeny of Amin-ul-Mulk Noor Muhammad Khan who are settled in Sultankot Sindh for more than 235 years now, who no more speak Pashtu. Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan emphasized his children to learn and speak Sindhi, and those who continued to speak Pashtu were punished. They have now completely merged themselves in the culture of Sindh, and the bones of their eight generations since Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan who erected Kot Sultan are fertilizing the wild vegetation of sacred soil of Sindh. 

 Facts based on Literature review and oral traditions passed on for centuries 

Oral traditions passed on among generations of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan’s clan:

1. Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan was married to Durrani King’s daughter called Gul Bibi

2. Late Haji Muhammad Nawaz Khan’s brother Late Agha Ghulam Nabi Pathan-paternal uncle to author’s parents shared with him that Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan was married to granddaughter of King Ahmed Shah Abdali

3. Haji Muhammad Nawaz Khan also recalled telling that when Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan came from Afghanistan, his son Muhammad Rahim Khan was a grownup boy, who had grown thin line of mustache.

4. The author’s uncle Late Agha Khalid Khan Babar revealed to him once that the year of advent of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar to Shikarpur, Sindh, was 1790 AD; which Late Agha Khalid Khan Babar had read mentioned on the inside leaf of the hard binding of a copy of the Quran with the Qazi clan who accompanied Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar from Afghanistan.

 Findings from Literature review: 

1. Nur Muhammad Khan’s daughters were married to King Zaman Shah Durrani; and to King Timur Shah, Hence both aunts of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan, were married to King Timur Shah and King Zaman Shah Durrani.

2. Timur Shah’s 10th wife was daughter of Sardar Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi (Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan’s aunt). Shah Zaman Shah Zaman was Timur Shah’s fourteenth son from his fourth wife; a lady from Saddozai clan.

3. King Shah Zaman’s fifth wife was daughter of Amin-ul-Mulk Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi (Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan’s aunt).

4. Nur Muhammad Khan Baburi was hanged to death along with other Amirs and Tribal chiefs on orders of King Zaman Shah Durrani on accont of devising a coup to depose him and bring on to throne his brother Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk

5. Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan Babar’s grandfather Nur Muhammad Khan’s clan was forced to deport from Afghanistan under the royal decree issued from the court of King Zaman Shah Durrani after the murder of Nur Muhammad Khan in 1799 on orders of King Zaman Shah Durrani.

6. In 1795, Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan purchased 50,000 acres of Agriculture land on Dost Wah, which was endorsed through Seanad issued by King Zaman Shah.

 Discussion based on above mentioned facts 

Shah Zaman Durrani was born in 1767 or 1770. Exact date is disputed, with different sources citing either year. He ruled Durrani Empire from 1793 to 1801. Since he got married to Nur Muhammad Khan’s daughter after ascending to throne in 1793, and if presumed the girl he married had reached puberty (aged 13), and if coincidentally the first child born from that wife was a girl following year in 1794, to be married to Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan, and taking in account the year he was expelled from Afghanistan (1799); the age of that girl would be only five years, which is logically not possible for her to be Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan’s wife, and also considering the fact revealed by Haji Muhammad Nawaz Khan that when Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan came to Shikarpur, his son Muhammad Rahim Khan accompanied him who had peach fuzz (thin line of Mustache) grown. So this proves that Sultan was married much before King Zaman Shah Durrani ascended to throne in 1793.

Since Nur Muhammad Khan’s other daughter was married to King Timur Shah, who he took in marriage after ascending to throne in 1722, awarding a title Sahib-i-Kar & Amin-ul-Mulk to Nur Muhammad Khan. And it was customary among tribal chiefs and Kings to marry from different tribes to strengthen their rule, hence if we presume that marriage took place in 1723, and within a year a girl child was born she would by the year of Sultan’s expulsion from Afghanistan would be aged 26, which the author is sure to be wife of Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan and mother of Muhammad Rahim Khan validating Haji Muhammad Nawaz Khan's heard tradition of Muhammad Rahim with peach fuzz which they do by the age 11, and the mother aged 26, must have been married at age around 15 or before. Also consider the fact that Timur Shah is quoted to have 56 sons, and in other reference books as 24 sons, but the son which was brought to throne was from Saddozai wife, his own clan. Likewise Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan must have gotten married to his first cousin from the Baburi wife of Timur Shah, called Gul Bibi. 

If Nur Muhammad Khan’s clan was deported from Afghanistan under a royal decree from court of Zaman Shah, as researched by Dr. Nur Muhammad Khan, after the clan was accused of being part of the plot to dethrone Zaman Shah; which led to orders of execution of Nur Muhammad Khan by Zaman Shah, and the year mentioned is 1799, then, Amir Sultan buying agriculture lands on Dost Wah, and Zaman Shah despite expelling them  endorsig through Seanad of the purchased land does not sound logical. However the other probability could be, since Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan and his grandfather Nur Muhammad Khan and grandfather Gul Muhammad Khan visited the area during different expeditions and for collection of Tributes from Kalhora and Talpurs, so it is possible that the land was bought and endorsed before their deportation from Afghanistan. And the claim of author’s uncle late Agha Khalid Khan, for the year of their arrival to be 1790 still leaves a mystery and needs further research and exploration to conclude whether that visit along with Qazi clan was a farewell to Afghanistan or a transitory travel for business affairs 

Conclusion :

Amir Sultan Muhammad Khan was married to his first cousin; daughter of King Timur Shah Abdali, and they were expelled from Afghanistan consequent of execution of his grandfather on orders of King Zaman Shah Durrani, and construction of Kot Sultan was consequent of that incident for safety of the clan.

1. “Babar Pashtun Qabeela” by Dr. Muhammad Hussain Babar

2.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalhora_dynasty#:~:text=Later%2C%20after%20his%20death%2C%20his,suzerainty%20of%20the%20Durrani%20Empire.

3.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Halani#:~:text=The%20Kalhora%20dynasty%20of%20Nawabs,the%20usage%20of%20gunpowder%20weaponry.

4. https://www.royalark.net/Afghanistan/durrani5.htm

5. https://archive.org/details/the-history-of-afghanistan-fayz-muhammad-katib-hazarahs-siraj-al-tawarikh-by-r.-/page/n181/mode/2up  (pages 184-186 & 200)

6. https://en.wikipedia-on-ipfs.org/wiki/Babar_(Pashtun_tribe)

7. https://archive.org/details/rise-of-the-saddozais-and-emancipation-of-afghans-by-umar-kamal-khan/page/50/mode/2up?q=hayat+khan

8. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.227105/page/n147/mode/2up

9. https://www.thebookseller.com/author-interviews/profile-william-dalrymple

10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durrani_dynasty

The last remanent of Sultankot wall