Pass, only forty-seven miles from the fort at Chitral, rode rapidly down the valley with a hundred or so of his adherents, collected others as he went along, and, on the following night, reached the fort. Afzul-ul-Mulk, hearing a noise, appeared upon the walls, and, in exposing himself, was shot dead on the spot. Had this unfortunate accident not occurred, he would, in all probability, have been able on the following day to have expelled Sher Afzul, but, now that he was dead, the people of Chitral eagerly gathered round Sher Afzul, who proclaimed himself their Mehtar. It was the news of this event that had reached Colonel Durand in Gilgit.
Nizam, the eldest son of the old Mehtar, and the rightful heir to the throne, was in Gilgit at the time the news of his brother's death reached that place. He at once signified to Colonel Durand his intention of moving against Sher Afzul, and started off towards Chitral with all the men he had with him and with some others of his adherents who had now come into Gilgit. Colonel Durand, at the same time, despatched two hundred and fifty rifles, two guns, and the Hunza and Nagar levies into Yasin, to strengthen his own position in the event of it becoming necessary to treat with Sher Afzul, and to preserve order in the western part of the district and in Yasin. •
Nizam was entirely successful in his move. He had one small skirmish with Sher Afzul's troops, and then Sher Afzul fled back to Afghan territory as rapidly as he had come. Nizam marched into Chitral and placed himself on the throne, being its fourth occupant within a space of a little over three months.
Nizam-ul-Mulk's first act, on ascending the throne, was to request Colonel Durand to send a British officer to him. He well knew the value of such an outward and visible sign that he was closely allied with the British Government, and he believed that the presence of a British officer in the country would prevent the recurrence of disturbances such as had already occurred. Accordingly, on January i, 1893, a mission,
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