A British illustration depicting one of their officers engaging in a sword fight with two Mohmand Pashtuns, 1911. From The Graphic, an illustrated weekly newspaper. The British, understandably, liked to glorify themselves in their portrayals of battles, so there is little to comment on regarding the officer. What is more interesting is the aged Mohmand Pashtun, a freedom fighter, attacking his foes with a sword and shield—arms that Pashtuns carried even in the late 1800s and early 1900s for close combat.
British illustrations consistently portray aged Pashtuns in battles, indicating that the participation of white-bearded elders—the spin giri—was a common phenomenon. In that regard, it set them apart from their other neighbors. This illustration also accurately depicts the sword-fighting style of the Pashtuns of these parts.
The 1908 British Conflict with the Mohmands
In 1903, the British Government began constructing the Loe Shilman Railway in Mohmand territory. This naturally provoked anger among the Mohmands, who clearly understood what the advance of British imperial railways implied for their independence.
By 1907, the Khwaezi and Baezi clans had launched repeated attacks on railway construction sites. They were soon joined by Muhasil Khan, a Kado Khel, along with Hakim and Mir Baz—though not Mohmands themselves—who attacked works at Smatzae and Shinpokh.
Tensions escalated further in 1908 after the British launched an operation against the Zakha Khel Afridis. The Mohmands, already agitated, saw this as an additional provocation. Events then moved at a rapid pace: Sufi Sahib of Nangarhar declared a “jihad” against the British, and the Mohmands appealed to the Amir of Kabul for support.
On 17 April 1908, an Afridi lashkar under Hazrat Sahib of Butkhela from the Bohai joined the Mohmands through the Gandhari and Pindiali valleys. When the British began “punitive” operations in response, many Kabul regulars as well as khassadars openly sided with the Mohmands. Though the swift termination of the campaign limited their full participation, reinforcements still poured in: some 500 Bar Mohmands from Lalpura, a larger number of Dehgan and Safi tribesmen from Kunar Valley, and even two Shinwari regular battalions stationed at Jalalabad were implicated in joining the fight.
On 22 April, the combined forces attacked Adozae. Two days later, on 24 April, they clashed fiercely with British troops at Shahkadar and Matta Khel before withdrawing to the Burjina Pass.
By 13 May, the British had dispatched a major punitive expedition under General Willcocks, which traversed the entire Mohmand country. Villages and crops were burned, widespread destruction was inflicted, and by 29 May the British claimed to have killed 450 Mohmands.
References
- Military Reports on Afghanistan, Simla, 1925.
- H. C. Wylly, From the Black Mountain to Waziristan.
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