[10][11][12] Towards the end of 1836, Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa, the commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army, attacked and captured the small, but very strategic, fortified Khyberi village of Jamrud, situated on the south-side of a range of mountains at the mouth of the Khyber Pass.

The Emir of Afghanistan, Dost Mohammad Khan, finding this as the right opportunity, sent his sons with a 7,000 cavalry, 2,000 matchlock-men, 9,000 guerilla fighters and 20,000 Khybers.

[13] While Akbar Khan's forces were focused on destroying the fortifications, Hari Singh Nawla, the Sikh general, led a charge against the Afghans.

[20] However, historians such as Christine Noelle state that Dost Mohammad Khan held no real ambitions for taking Peshawar in 1837.

[23][10] To defuse the situation, Dost Mohammad wrote an apology letter to the Maharaja claiming his sons actions were unauthorized and sent some horses as gifts to him.

"[25] Dost Mohammed Khan proposed that, if the Sikh Empire would entrust Peshawar to his care, frontier tensions could be alleviated.

[27] General Paolo Avitabile was made the new governor of Peshawar, while the surrounding districts were granted to the Barakzai Sardars and local chieftains.