Editing History of Pakistan (section)

===Maratha Empire===
{{Main|Maratha Confederacy|}}

By early 18th century, the Mughal empire declined. In 1749, the Mughals were induced to cede [[Sindh Province|Sindh]], the [[Punjab region]] and the important trans [[Indus River]] to [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] in order to save his capital from Afghan attack.<ref>Meredith L. Runion [https://books.google.com/books?id=aZk9XzqCFGUC&dq=ahmad+shah+durrani+1749+sindh+and+punjab&pg=PA69 ''The History of Afghanistan''] pp 69 Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 {{ISBN|0313337985}}</ref> Ahmad Shah sacked Delhi in 1757 but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control of the city as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty over Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir. Leaving his second son [[Timur Shah Durrani|Timur Shah]] to safeguard his interests, Ahmad Shah left India to return to Afghanistan.

In 1751–52, ''Ahamdiya'' treaty was signed between the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] and [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]], when [[Balaji Bajirao]] was the [[Peshwa]].<ref name="Panipat">Patil, Vishwas. ''Panipat''.</ref> Through this treaty, the Marathas controlled whole of India from their capital at [[Pune]] and the Mughal rule was restricted only to Delhi (the Mughals remained the nominal heads of Delhi). Marathas were now straining to expand their area of control towards the Northwest of India. Ahmad Shah sacked the Mughal capital and withdrew with the booty he coveted. To counter the Afghans, Peshwa Balaji Bajirao sent [[Raghunathrao]]. He defeated the Rohillas and Afghan garrisons in Punjab and succeeded in ousting Timur Shah and his court from India and brought Lahore, Multan, Kashmir and other subahs on the Indian side of Attock under Maratha rule.<ref name=K.RoyIHB>{{cite book | last=Roy |first=Kaushik |title=India's Historic Battles: From Alexander the Great to Kargil |publisher=Permanent Black, India |pages=80–1 |isbn=978-81-7824-109-8|year=2004 }}</ref> Thus, upon his return to Kandahar in 1757, Ahmad was forced to return to India and face the Maratha Confederacy.
[[File:Bala_Hisar_Fort.jpg|thumb|The [[Bala Hissar, Peshawar|Bala Hissar]] fort in [[Peshawar]] was one of the royal residences of the Durrani kings.]]
In 1758, the [[Maratha Empire]]'s general [[Raghunath Rao]] attacked and conquered [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], frontier regions and [[Kashmir]] and drove out [[Timur Shah Durrani]], the son and viceroy of Ahmad Shah Abdali. In 1759, the Marathas and its allies won the Battle of Lahore, defeating the Durranis,<ref>Jacques, Tony. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 562. {{ISBN|978-0-313-33536-5}}.</ref><ref>"Marathas and the English Company 1707–1818 by Sanderson Beck". san.beck.org. Retrieved 10 April 2015.</ref> hence, [[Lahore]], [[Dera Ghazi Khan]], [[Multan]], [[Peshawar]], Kashmir, and other subahs on the south eastern side of Afghanistan's border fell under the Maratha rule.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jaswant Lal Mehta|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA224|year=2005|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=978-1-932705-54-6|page=224}}</ref>

Ahmad Shah declared a [[jihad]] (or Islamic holy war) against the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], and warriors from various Afghan tribes joined his army. Early skirmishes were followed by decisive victory for the Afghans against the much larger Maratha garrisons in Northwest India and by 1759 Ahmad Shah and his army reached Lahore and were poised to confront the Marathas. By 1760, the Maratha groups had coalesced into a big enough army under the command of [[Sadashivrao Bhau]]. Once again, [[Panipat]] was the scene of a confrontation between two warring contenders for control of northern India. The Third Battle of Panipat (14 January 1761), fought between largely Muslim and largely Hindu armies was waged along a twelve-kilometer front. Although the Durrani's army decisively defeated the Marathas, they suffered heavily in the battle.

The victory at Panipat was the high point of Ahmad Shah's—and Afghan—power. However, even prior to his death, the empire began to face challenges in the form of a rising Sikhs in Punjab. In 1762, Ahmad Shah crossed the passes from Afghanistan for the sixth time to subdue the [[Sikh Empire|Sikhs]]. From this time and on, the domination and control of the Empire began to loosen, and by the time of Durrani's death he had completely lost Punjab to the Sikhs, as well as earlier losses of northern territories to the Uzbeks, necessitating a compromise with them.<ref>Meredith L. Runion [https://books.google.com/books?id=aZk9XzqCFGUC&pg=PA69 ''The History of Afghanistan''] pp 71 Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 {{ISBN|0313337985}}</ref>