Images from the past : Afghanistan

[Longhorn]

A lesson and a warning to Pakistanis

 

[ghazi52]

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Ziyarat-e Sakhi, Kabul, Afghanistan, 1939-44 (c).

Sakhi Shah-e Mardan Shrine or Ziyarat-e Sakhi ( زیارت سخی), is a shrine and mosque located in the Karte Sakhi area of Kabul, Afghanistan. It is associated with the place to which the cloak of the Islamic prophet Muhammad was brought and with a visit from Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, who would become the fourth Caliph and first of the Twelve Imams.

The shrine is located at the foot of the Asamayi Hill, now better known as Television Hill. To its north and west is the Sakhi Cemetery...
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Portrait of Habibullah Kalakani (Bacha i Saqao), ruler of Afghanistan (1929), standing in uniform on a dais apparently engaged in making a speech.

Habibullah Kalakani (1891 - 1929), also known by his nickname "Bacha-ye Saqao" (son of the water carrier) was a ruler of Afghanistan from 17 January to 13 October 1929, as well as a leader of the Saqqawists. During the Afghan Civil War (1928 - 1929), he captured vast swathes of Afghanistan and ruled Kabul during what is known in historiography as the "Saqqawist period".

He was an ethnic Tajik, No country recognized Habibullah Kalakani as ruler of Afghanistan.

© The Trustees of the British Museum
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Nasrullah Khan, sometimes spelt as Nasr Ullah Khan, was shahzada of Afghanistan and second son of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan. He held the throne of Afghanistan as Emir for one week, from 21 to 28 February 1919.

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[ghazi52]

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King of Afghanistan Mohammad Zahir Shah with King of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1940's.

In this photo, they don’t know they will both be the last King of their respective countries.

The Mohammadzai Dynasty (1823-1973) and Pahlavi Dynasty (1925-1979) ended with these two men.............
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[ghazi52]

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Sher Ali Khan Emir Of Afghanistan, 1865 (c).

Sher Ali Khan was born in 1825, the third son of Dost Mohammad Khan, and succeeded to his father's throne in Afghanistan in 1863; initially his position was not secure due to family struggles, revolts and civil war.

He attempted to maintain stability within Afghanistan as power struggles ensued between Russia to the north and British India to the south. During the Second Afghan War (1878-81) Sher Ali Khan fled the country but died in 1879 on the journey, before which he had placed his son, Ya'qub Khan on the throne.

Bust-length, wearing a brown kaftan over a black tunic, with a black cap. Watercolour over a photograph on ivory laid on card.
© Royal Collection Trust

 

[ghazi52]

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Amir Habibullah Khan Of Afghanistan (At Three Years Of Age) And Sirdar Nasarullah Khan (Age Two) With Their Nurses, Amusers And Handkerchief-carriers, Early 1870's.

Habibullah Khan was the son of Amir Abdur Rahman, and the father of King Amanullah Khan. He ruled Afghanistan from 1901, until he was assassinated in 1919. Habibullah Khan kept Afghanistan out of World War I.
During his reign, Habibullah started to modernize his country. He imported automobiles, and built various roads. In 1904, the fir.st modern school in Afghanistan was built (Habibia), and electricity was brought to Kabul..

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Views in Afghanistan By Lillias Hamilton.

Seven men seated on the floor around a cloth with bread on it, Afghanistan, 1890's (c).

Lillias Anna Hamilton (1858-1925) was a British pioneer female doctor and author. She was born at Tomabil Station, New South Wales to Hugh Hamilton (1822-1900) and his wife Margaret Clunes (née Innes).

After attending school in Ayr and then Cheltenham Ladies' College, she trained first as a nurse, in Liverpool, before going on to study medicine in Scotland, qualifying as a Doctor of Medicine in 1890.

She was a court physician to Amir Abdur Rahman Khan in Afghanistan in the 1890's, and wrote a fictionalized account of her experiences in her book A Vizier's Daughter: A Tale of the Hazara War, published in 1900.

 

[ghazi52]

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Battle Of Jamrud, Khyber Pass, 1837 (c).

(Excerpt Fom Afghanistan In The Age Of Empires By Farrukh Husain)

Hari Singh had impudently written to Dost Mahomed Khan to the effect that Hindu scriptures predicted the Sikh conquest of Kabul. Therefore unless Dost Mahomed Khan wanted to burn he should obediently hand Kabul over. Otherwise the purdah protecting Dost Mahomed Khan’s honour would be split asunder- a clear and unequivocal threat to Dost Mahomed Khan’s harem. Hari Singh added for good measure that a failure to comply with the demand would leave Dost Mahomed Khan biting his own hand in remorse and that Hari Singh would not then show any mercy to Dost Mahomed Khan (pp.184-185 Vo.1 Siraj al Tawarikh.)

For this reason Dost Mahomed Khan declared war on Hari Singh. Dost Mahomed Khan’s two sons Mohamed Afzal Khan and Mohamed Akbar Khan distinguished themselves by leading the forces of their father into battle at Jamrud. The battle was waged for twelve long days. For the first eleven days the outcome of the battle was unclear. Then on the twelfth day the Sikhs broke through the Afghan forces. Hari Singh had launched a bold attack, driving his Afghan opponents backwards in defeat. However, Sardar Muhammad Afzal Khan turned back from retreat and though the Sikhs were devastating the Afghans with deadly slashes of their sabres, Sardar Muhammed Afzal Khan rallied the Afghan forces by leading an attack upon the Sikh force. The Sikhs wilted under Muhammed Afzal Khan’s onslaught and Sirdar Mohammed Akbar Khan also turned back from retreat to join his brother’s offensive and pounced on the Sikhs (p210 vol 1 Siraj al Tawarikh).

It fell to Mohammed Afzal Khan as oldest son of the Amir Dost Mohammed Khan, to seek out and destroy the Sikh dragon Hari Singh. Hari had dared to lead his forces breathing fire and war into the land of the Khyber. Mohammed Afzal Khan charged towards him, perhaps inspired by the poem of Hanzala of Badghis,

“If leadership rests inside the lion’s jaw,

So be it. Go, snatch it from his jaws.

Your ‘lot shall be greatness, prestige, honor and glory.

If all fails, face death like a man."

There was to be no escape for this jingoistic old fire breather, harried by the Afghans he would now meet his doom. Hari Singh fell in a ball of smoke as he was blasted by Mohammed Afzal Khan, from an Afghan swivel cannon mounted atop a camel (p352 Ghani. Brief history of Afghanistan). Hari Singh died as violently as he had lived, in the land of his Afghan opponents, near a watch tower (p.52 Tarikh-i-Peshawar; p.91 SM Jaffar).

In 1834 before occupying Peshawar, Hari Singh had openly voiced “his contempt for Afghans and did not conceal his design to carry Sikh arms beyond Peshawar” (p240 History of the Sikhs Cunningham) and now he paid the price for his misjudgement and ironically fulfilled his wishes and carried his arms just beyond what was at that time Peshawar City, before being blasted to death (See p.186 Vol.1 Siraj al Tawarikh which states that Mahomed Akbar Khan killed Hari Singh in combat with his sword. This seems unlikely since Mahomed Akbar Khan was on horseback and the Sikh was on an Elephant so could not have been within the reach of swordsmen to inflict blows upon him.

On a separate note related to the Zamburak, though long since out of use the power of the Zumbarak is used as a curse by parents when angry with their kids. There are two sayings that are used: firstly, “pa zamburak soray she”, which translates as “may allah make a hole in your body by a zamburak” and secondly, “pa zamburak owahalay she” meaning “may allah struck you by a zamburak”.)

“Hari Singh was possessed of great personal intrepidity, but, whether from want of judgement or from undervaluing his foes, had frequently been placed in critical situations, and at length fell a victim to his temerity. He held the Afghans in bitter contempt, ever affirming that they were dogs and cowards, and that he knew them well." (p.387 vol.3 Travels in Balochistan, Punjab -Masson)

The Sikh and the Pashtun had met in combat and the Sikh had been found wanting. Though Mahomed Akbar Khan wanted to advance to Peshawar, two of his uncles came to warn him that the Sikhs had managed to reinforce their troops and the Afghan forces retreated without liberating their city.

Ten thousand Kandahari troops arrived too late to participate in the battle and reinforced Mohammed Akbar Khan and Mohammed Afzal Khan. During the course of the retreat letters from Runjeet Singh were found addressed to the two uncles who had proposed the retreat of the Afghan forces.

The two uncles were immediately arrested and the Afghan forces retraced their steps towards Jamrud (pp.86-87 Note 356 Calendar of Persian Correspondence, collection of treaties, sanads, letters etc which passed between the East India Company, Sikhs, Afghans and other notables Vol 1 1972). However, the Afghans were too late because the Sikh force had departed looking for easier prey.

Runjeet Singh was reduced to tears on learning about the death of his childhood playmate Hari Singh (pp.256-257 Cunningham). This did not prevent Runjeet continuing to toy with the Afghans, by holding on to the fair vale of Peshawar. Runjeet was not the only one to cry about the battle of Jamrud, Dost Mahomed Khan’s son, “Mahomed Haider Khan, a boy, who had never before seen battle, retired weeping"( p.384 vol.3 Masson).

The ‘boy' was actually about twenty years of age since Neville Chamberlain describes him as being twenty-two in 1839. Only time would tell whether Mahomed Haider Khan had the mettle to engage in conflict and come out victorious, but the omens were not fortuitous, since the clouds of war were rapidly gathering. Another Afghan commander named Hajji Khan Kakar also did not fight the Sikhs for he had been in league with the Sikhs. For this reason Kakar was later dismissed from service by Dost Mahomed Khan. This traitor then went to serve the Kandahar Sardars where he would sow further mischief.

Though the battle of Jamrud was over, blood however was still to be shed in the Peshawar valley. As the Afghan troops turned their backs on Peshawar and headed towards Kabul, they would not have heard the screams of terror emanating from Peshawar city.

The poor defenceless residents, of the former Afghan winter capital, of Peshawar faced a terrible massacre from the defeated Sikh troops, “all the mosques were set on fire and six hundred Afghans were killed by the Sikhs."(Note 356 p.87 Calendar of Persian Correspondence)

The Sikhs sought to avenge the loss of their leader, such is the way of war and the deeds of those who know no chivalry. However, the occupiers would not enjoy safety in Peshawar:

“the French officers could not with safety leave homes to an evening dinner while we were at Peshawar and our intercourse was confined to breakfasts." (cited at p.140 A H Tabibi, Afghanistan a nation in love with Freedom quoting Burnes letter 2nd June 1838 to McNaghten.)

Living under Sikh occupation and their Napoleonic mercenaries was traumatic for the Peshawar Afghans, since their life was worth less than that of a cow. The famous dish of Peshawar is the sandal (chappali) shaped kebab, made from beef, but the cow is venerated by the Sikhs. No longer could the inhabitants of Peshawar savour their regional delicacy.

“An unfortunate Musulman, at Peshawur, was found guilty of eating roast beef; the Sikhs kindled a large fire, placed their victim within the circle they formed around it, prevented his escape by thrusting pointed sticks at him, and so burnt him alive." (p.246 A personal narrative of a visit to Ghazni, Kabul and Afghanistan Vigne.)

Peshawar was a quagmire for Runjeet Singh, but to give it up would be to admit defeat, in return for which the Sikhs had lost many able men and expended a great deal of money. It was the classic dilemma faced by those that occupy Afghan territory. Runjeet Singh himself called Peshawar a necklace of knives hung around my throat by Hari Singh (p.81 A Fletcher Afghanistan Highway of Conquest).
An Italian officer Avitabile, now took on the governorship of Peshawar and was notorious for being utterly ruthless and ensuring that the gallows and minarets of Peshawar were swinging with the corpses of unfortunate Afghans. The tussle for Peshawar was essentially a mini-run of the forthcoming first Anglo Afghan War. This war should have served as a warning to the British not to compromise themselves by getting involved in the Afghan imbroglio.


Source - Afghanistan In The Age Of Empires.

Author - Farrukh Husain

The Illustrations Depict Mohammed Akbar Khan "Print Based On Vincent Eyre's Painting".

 

[ghazi52]

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Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727 Over The Hindu Kush Mountains. Ariana's 727 Was Delivered In April 1968 And Was The Countries First Jet Aircraft.

Kandahar City, Afghanistan, 1966 (c).

© peloquin

A Burqa-clad Woman On Donkey, Herat, Afghanistan, 1968 (c).

The Bamberg photographer Werner Kohn traveled in 1968, as was often the case at the time, without a fixed time and travel plan. His route took him from Turkey and Iran to Herat, Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul and after a detour via Mazar-i Sharif back to Kabul, a total of 3 months through Afghanistan and then finally on to Pakistan. he photographed people and their lives in public spaces.

 

[ghazi52]

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Soviet soldiers posing for a photograph with one of the Bamiyan Buddhas, during the Soviet-Afghan war, 1980's (c).

 

[ghazi52]

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The First Day Of Operation Of The Trolley Bus In Kabul, Kandahar Street, Kabul, Afghanistan, 1979 (c).

Kabul had surplus of electricity that came from the hydro power stations. That made electric trolley buses economically feasible.
Afghanistan was thinking about green energy and, saving the planet Earth. 43 years ago, the world has just started thinking about electric cars to save the world.

 

[ghazi52]

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Young students wearing mini-skirts walking down the street in Kabul, despite violent opposition to women showing their bare legs, Afghanistan, 1972 (c).

© Gamma-Rapho

Aerial view of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul in 1979.

 

[ghazi52]

Kabul, 1972
A student in Kabul, the Afghan capital, in 1972.

© Laurence Brun / Gettyimages

 

[SLY]

Kabul, 1972
A student in Kabul, the Afghan capital, in 1972.

© Laurence Brun / Gettyimages

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The Afghan and Persian women are not easy to control only Talibans can keep them lined up without them the country would become just another Ukraine or Czech Republic

 

[Trailer23]

@ghazi52

Yours truly at the top of Bibi Mahro Hill (Kabul)

Next to a scrapped Soviet Tank