1 Conquest of the Punjab. fc 103
2 that Sultan Muhammad was even less trustworthy
3 than his brother, he came to the conclusion that the
4 cheapest and safest way of dealing with Peshawar
5 would be to annex it and administer it himself. This,
6 however, was not a step to be taken in a hurry.
7 Peshawar was still, in name at least, a province
8 of Afghanistan ; and its occupation by the Sikhs
9 would undoubtedly lead to a conflict with Dost
10 Muhammad Khan, who by this time was firmly
11 seated on the throne of the Durani kings, and who
12 was, as Ranjit Singh well knew, the strongest ruler
13 who had occupied that throne for many generations.
14 In these circumstances, it is not surprising that
15 Ranjit Singh lent a sympathetic ear to a proposal
16 made to him at this time by his old friend Shah
17 Shuja. For reasons best known to himself, the
18 Durani exile had decided that 1833 was the year in
19 which he was destined to regain his lost inheritance.
20 He first appealed for assistance to his British
21 protectors ; but he was informed that the British
22 Government, though it had no intention of interfering
23 with his enterprise and would even be glad to see it
24 succeed, could not do otherwise than remain neutral.
25 Shah Shuja, therefore, laid his plans before Ranjit
26 Singh. His intention was to march through Sind,
27 and having persuaded the Amirs of that country to
28 join his standard, to make for Kabul by way of
29 Kandahar. In return for the assistance of the
30 Sikh ruler, he promised, on his restoration to
31 power, to abandon his claims on Peshawar and all
32 other possessions held by his ancestors east of the
33 Indus. Ranjit Singh had no very ardent desire