Page 28 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer

1769, Ghulam Shah Kalhora again attacked Dera Ghazi Khan, and finally
drove out the Miranis. He put in Mehmood Khan Gujjar as governor.
Mehmood Khan, as stated above, was succeeded by his nephew, Barkhurdar,
who was killed in 1779, when the province was put under governors
appointed direct from Kabul. Neither Mehmood Khan nor Barkhurdar
exercised any authority over Layyah and the cis-Indus country. They were
purely governors of Dera Ghazi Khan. Ghulam Shah took Dera Ghazi Khan
in 1769 but in 1772, the Kalhoras were themselves driven out of Sindh by
the Talpurs. This threw them entirely into the hands of the Kabul king, and
they retired with their following to the District Dera Ghazi Khan, where they
were granted considerable jagirs; henceforth they are known as Serais,
instead of by their old name of Kalhoras. The Serais, finding themselves
stranded at Dera Ghazi Khan with a large armed following, now commenced
to look about for some territory in which to found a new principality. The
Jaskani country, torn by internal faction, and attached by tradition to the
province of Dera Ghazi Khan, was close at hand, and in every way suited for
the purpose. Armed therefore with a sanad from Taimur Shah, the then king
of Kabul, Abdul Nabi Serai, the brother of Ghulam Shah, entered into a
league with the turbulent Sarganis, and in 1789 marched against Layyah.
Muhammad Khan Jaskani was defeated, and fled to the Tiwana country and
thence to Bahawalpur. The Nawab of Bahawalpur would probably have
assisted him to recover his country, but Muhammad Khan, with the pride of
a Baloch, insultingly refused to give the nawab a valuable work on hawking
for which he had asked, and ended his days as a dependant on Hasad Khan,
the Nutkani chief of Sagar. Thus, ended the line of the Jaskani chiefs after a
rule of more than 200 years. Abdul Nabi Serai held the Layyah Government
only for three years. Complaints were made to the king of his tyrannical rule,
while an appointment was wanted for Muhammad Khan Sadozai. The latter
was cousin to Muzaffar Khan, Nawab of Multan, for whom he had for some
time acted as Governor of Multan to the satisfaction of the king. A sanad
therefore was soon drawn out appointing Muhammad Khan Nawab and
Governor of the Sindh-Sagar Doab from Kallur Kot to Mehmoodkot and from
the Indus to the Chenab. Muhammad Khan had still to take possession,
which was not to be done without fighting. He was met by Abdul Nabi near
Layyah, and in the battle that ensued the Serais had at first the advantage,
and the Nawab's people fled. The Nawab himself was ready to flee, saying:
“What can a king do without an army?" but was stopped by his jamadar, as
the legend goes, who said: “Better die than flee." Eventually he rallied a part
of his forces, and meanwhile some Labanas crept up through a bhang field
and attacking the Serais from behind, killed Muhamad Arif, the son of Abdul
Nabi, who had been the soul of the fight, and the Serais, being disheartened,
gave in. The Serais were allowed a day to remove their property and departed
by boat to their own country to the south.
Meanwhile, Taimur Shah had died in 1793. He was succeeded by Zaman
Shah, whose title was, however, disputed by Prince Humayun. In 1794,
Humayun made his second attempt to recover the kingdom from Zaman

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