Baluchistan (1839 - 1841)

In 1839, Baluchistan was ruled by Mehrab Khan, khan of Kalat. Although the khan had signed a treaty with the British allowing their forces safe passage en route to India, his wazir, Mahummed Hasan, as an act of revenge for the khan having murdered Hasan's father, plotted the khan's downfall. Hasan told the British and the khan that each was plotting against the other, and encouraged Baluchi tribesmen to attack the British as they passed through the country.

The British sent a brigade of the Bombay Army under Major-General Sir Thomas Willshire to punish the khan for the perceived treachery. Willshire reached Kalat on 13th November 1839, defeated the khan's followers, and stormed the city. Mehrab Khan was killed in the fighting, and despite the fact that Hasan's duplicity was discovered, his son and heir, Nasir Khan was not given the throne: a rival claimant Shah Nawaz Khan being appointed.

Baluchistan continued to simmer. The British garrison at Khahan (300 men of the 5th Bombay Infantry) was besieged by members of the Marri tribe between April and September 1840, with a relief force being beaten off in August. Safe passage was eventually granted to the beleaguered garrison in return for the handing over of the fort.

Nawaz Khan, however, lacked the support of the local chiefs, and abdicated in favour of Nasir Khan in August 1840. The British political officer and his small garrison were overwhelmed, and, upon this, a new British expedition was sent under Major-General William Nott. Nott re-captured Kalat at the end of 1840, but skirmishing between the two sides continued until a compromise was reached in October 1841, with Nasir Khan confirmed on his throne.

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