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— 112 — that this man would kill any one who comes within range ; and this man was also the bearer of a letter in which Sirdar Abdur Rashid Khan had indicated his desire to come. This letter fell in the hands of Mohan Lal. When Abdur Rashid Khan escaped from the gateway of Ghazni and met his friends, Mohan Lal introduced him to Maughnaton : who placed him directly under the orders of Lord Kein : so that the in- formation which Abdur Rashid Khan gave about the defences of Ghazni to the military engineer of the English forces one na- med Major Thomson contributed to the blowing up of the gateway of Ghazni and the breaking up of the national defences of that city. The English arrived opposite the citadel of Ghazni on 21st, July 1839, A. D. and moved up their forces towards the Kabul Gate leading to Kabul, so that all communication between Kabul and Ghazni could be cut. The fact is that as soon as the English forces were sighted near Ghazni, the guns of the Ghazni defences began to fire on the enemy ; and Sirdar Ghulam Haider Khan was prepared to defend the city to the last . The army together with the people of the town were ever ready to stand by and defend their town with bra- very and persistence. The wea kness that was apparent in Amir Dost Mohamed Khan's defence plan, was the rivalry that existed between his two sons - namely Sirdar Mohamed Afzal Khan and Sirdar Ghulam Haider Khan. Under he plan Sirdar Mohamed Afzal Khan was to defend the city from outside, while the last named was to secure the inner defences. At one point, the sensitive brother desired to enter the city, so that both of the brothers could defend the city toge- ther. This request created a delicate position, with the result that Sir- dar Mohamed Afzal Khan left the city to its own devices. But this in itself was not a matter of great significance, for it was possible that Sirdar Ghulam Haider Khan could continue to hold the town, and the English troops could have been annihilated