“It is not easy to rule Khurasan (سلطنت خراسان). Nadir Shah (Afshar), despite his might, abundant funds, and military weapons, was not able to control all of Khurasan. Whenever he captured one mountainous region, insurgence would break out in another. He (Nadir Shah) fought for many years but was never able to establish control over the land of Khurasan. So how could British officers, with crow-faced Indian soldiers, gain control of Khurasan in fifteen months?
At the end of his account, Mirza Ata asserts: "Khurasan is the land of falcons, and the Kingdom of Hindustan is the land of crows; falcons cannot become friends with crows.”
[Source: "Literacy in the Persianate world: writing and the social order", p-268]
In original Persian text of the passage, you can see the word "Yaghi" there. Although it is corruption of 'baghi' (rebel), it carried the specific meaning of independent and having no masters. The term was applied to the independent Pashtun tribes of hills.
Naway Ma'arek of Mirza Ata Muhammad Shikarpuri is extensively quoted by William Dalryample in his book "Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan".
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