Kakar History Foundation held another lecture as part of its guest lecture series, titled “Afghanistan: From the Reign of Ahmad Shah Durrani to the First Afghan-Anglo War.” The event was attended by a wide group of people, including scholars, political figures, researchers, journalists, and activists.
First, Kawun Kakar welcomed the audience and briefed them about the Foundation’s objectives, activities, achievement, and various publications.
He introduced Mr. Farrukh Hussain, the author of “Afghanistan in the Age of Empires.”
Mr. Hussain states that during the reign of Ahmed Shah the Durrani Empire was the second largest Muslim empire after the Ottoman Empire. Explaining various major events of the time, Mr. Hussain discussed the reason for the expansion of his empire. Following that, his grandson, Zaman Shah attempted to establish a centralized state with a national army. Following Zaman Shah, he proceeded towards a discussion on the first rule of Shah Shuja.
At the same time, he discussed the rise of the Sikh ruler, Ranjit Singh, who eventually captured Peshawar. Following the disagreement between British-India and King Dost Mohammad Khan, the British decided on the ill-fated attack on Afghanistan and installed Shah Shuja. There was further discussion of various events and uprisings in Kabul against the British and Shah Shuja, and how the events led to the killing of Macnaghten by Wazir Akbar Khan and the defeat of the British forces.
The event ended with a question and answer session.
