History of Peshawar

Punjab. The arrival of a party led by British explorer and former agent of the East India Company, William Moorcroft was seen as an advantage, both in dealings with Kabul and for protection against the Sikhs of Lahore. Moorcroft was even offered the governorship of Peshawar and was invited to offer the area's allegiance to the East India Company, which he declined. Moorcroft continued to Kabul in the company of Peshawari forces and thence to the Hindu Kush. In 1818, Peshawar was captured by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and paid a nominal tribute until it was finally annexed in 1834 by the Sikh Empire, after which the city fell into steep decline. Many of Peshawar's famous Mughal gardens were destroyed by the Sikhs at this time. The Italian administrator acting on behalf of the Sikhs, Paolo Avitabile, ruled Peshawar under a reign of fear - his time is Peshawar is known as a time of "gallows and gibbets." The city's famous Mahabat Khan, built in 1630 in the Jeweler's Bazaar, was badly damaged and desecrated by the Sikh conquerors.

Sikhism was established in the region with the construction of Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh and Gurdwara Bhai Beeba Singh, by Hari Singh Nalwa. While the city's Sikh population drastically declined after the partition of India, Peshawar's Sikh community has re-established itself, bolstered by Sikh refugees from Afghanistan and by approximately 4,000 refugees from the Tribal Areas; in 2008, the largest Sikh population in Pakistan was located in Peshawar. Sikhs in Peshawar self-identify as Pashtuns and speak Pashto as their mother tongue.

An 1835 attempt to re-occupy the city, by Dost Mohammad Khan, failed when his army declined to engage in combat with the Dal Khalsa. Khan's son, Mohammad Akbar Khan, almost succeeded in gaining control of the city in the Battle of Jamrud of 1837, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Peshawar remained under the Sikh Maharajahs, until they were vanquished by the British empire