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sources of information were more numerous and reliable. They knew when and where to strike and were well aware of the military incapacity of Mahmud Khan. A handful of Khogianis surrounded him and after a brief struggle took him prisoner. His soldiers were disarmed and sent away. Most of them had been recruited from the Northern Province, the home of Bacha. When they returned to their homes, they related exaggerated tales of the weakness of the King's army and the strength of the rebels.
The news of the fall of Nimla and the capture of Mahmud Khan was a great shock to the besieged garrison at Jalalabad. The army was disheartened and a spirit of desertion began to spread both among the royal troops and the levies. عساکر اجیر The deserters, instead of seeking safety in flight or concealment, ran away with their rifles and either joined the rebels or infested the highways. The levies followed suit, most of them joining the Shinwaris. Sher Ahmad Khan, the commander of the Jalalabad garrison, finding himself entirely cut off from the Central Government, tried his best to
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Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.