Page 29 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer

Shah, but was defeated and fled to Sagar, where Massu Khan Nutkani, Chief
of Sagar, assisted him and managed to smuggle him across the Dera Fateh
Khan in a ferry. He got to Layyah and stopped at a well, where curiosity was
excited by his paying an ashrafi for a few sticks of sugarcane that he had
taken. The news came to the ears of Nawab Muhammad Khan, who
happened to be at Layyah at the time. The Nawab suspected that it must be
Prince Humayun, for whose capture strict orders, with promises of untold
rewards, had been issued by Zaman Shah. He accordingly collected some
horsemen and pursued Humayun whom he overtook at a well in the Thal
some 15 miles from Layyah. Humayun had some 20 or 30 horsemen with
him, who in desperation made a good fight. Humayun's young son was killed,
and Humayun himself was taken prisoner and brought to Layyah. The
Nawab at once reported the capture of Humayun to the king, Zaman Shah,
who sent orders that Humayun's eyes should be put out and his companions
disembowelled. He also conferred on the Nawab the name of Sarbiland Khan,
and the government of Dera Ismail Khan in addition to that which he already
held. The orders of the king were carried out at Layyah. Humayun himself
passed the rest of his life in confinement.
The province of Dera, of which Muhammad Khan now became governor,
extended from the Khasor range to the Sagar country ruled over by the
Nutkani chief. Nawab Muhammad Khan had his headquarters at Mankera
and Bhakkar, and governed Dera by a deputy. He left his mark on the north
of the district by the canals which he dug. It is he that is referred to as the
Nawab of the Thal. In 1815, he died. He left no son, and was succeeded by
his son-in-law, Hafiz Ahmad Khan.
Muhammad Khan was undoubtedly a man of great character, and during his
lifetime the Sikhs abstained from attacking the Layyah territories.
Immediately on his death a demand for tribute was made on Hafiz Ahmad
Khan. On his refusal, the forts of Khangarh and Mehmoodkot were occupied
by the Sikhs, and great atrocities were perpetrated on the Muslim population
of the neighbourhood until Hafiz Ahmad Khan procured the withdrawal of
the Sikh garrisons by the payment of a large sum of money, and thus
recovered the forts, with part also of the plunder extorted. After this the Sikh
Government continued to press the Nawab with all kinds of extortionate
demands. Among other things, Ranjit Singh was especially fond of seizing
any valuable horses he might hear of, and made the Nawab yield some of his
favourites. In 1818 Multan, despite of the gallant resistance offered by Nawab
Muzaffar Khan, had been taken by the Sikhs. Hafiz Ahmad Khan had not
dared to assist a kinsman in the struggle, and his own turn was soon to
come. In the autumn of 1821, Ranjit Singh, disengaged from more serious
matters, determined to reduce him. He accordingly marched with an army
through Shahpur to a point on the Indus opposite Dera Ismail Khan. He sent
a force of 8,000 men across the river, and on this the town was surrendered
by the governor, Diwan Manik Rai. Bhakkar, Layyah, Khangarh and
Maujgarh were all successively reduced without resistance. Mankera,

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