Battle of Jamrud The Battle of Jamrud was fought between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the Sikh Empire on 30 April 1837 . The Sikhs were building up towards crossing the Khyber pass in order to invade Jalalabad . This led the Afghan National Army to confront the Sikh forces at Jamrud . The Afghan attempt to retake Peshawar from the invading Sikhs failed , but the killing of Sikh General Hari Singh Nalwa limited the Khyber pass as the western extent of the Sikh Empire , which was ended about a decade later by the British . Background . The Battle of Jamrud was fought between the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh and the Afghans under Emir Dost Muhammad Khan . The Afghans had been losing their long held territories to Sikhs over the preceding years due to internal conflicts , and had seen their once mighty empire shrink with the loss of the Punjab region , Multan , Kashmir , Derajat , Hazara and Peshawar . The last three now largely constitute Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . The loss of Peshawar was the most personal as the inhabitants of the region were fellow Afghans and the city was the second capital of Afghanistan . Prelude . Towards the end of 1836 , Hari Singh Nalwa attacked and captured the small , though very strategic , fortified Misha Khel Khyberi village of Jamrud , situated on the south - side of a range of mountains at the mouth of the Khyber pass . With the conquest of Jamrud , the frontier of the Sikh Empire now bordered the frontier of Afghanistan . This Sikh victory at Jamrud was followed by the resounding defeat of the Yusafzai chief , Fatteh Khan of Panjtar . In 1837 , the Sikh army was in Lahore for Kanwar Nau Nihal Singh ' s wedding , ( the grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh ) . It is alleged that inside information on the goings - on in Lahore were sent to Kabul by the Dogras which encouraged the Afghans to attack and attempt to reclaim Peshawar . The Emir of Afghanistan Dost Muhammad Khan immediately rushed his army accompanied by no less than five of his sons to drive the Sikhs out of Peshawar . Although the battle was not won by the Afghan army , much appreciated Sikh general Hari Singh Nalwa , was killed in the encounter . Battle . On taking Jamrud , Hari Singh Nalwa had asked his deputy Mahan Singh to repair the small existing fort at the entrance to the Khyber pass . Hari Singh Nalwa had simultaneously laid the foundation for a large fort in the vicinity of the smaller one , but construction activity had to cease because of the commencement of hostilities . On this occasion , Sikh forces faced the wrath of the Afghans . For want of timely help from Lahore Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa was killed by Akbar Khan , but the Afghans did not dislodge the Sikh troops from the fort . One view is that the decision to abandon the campaign to reclaim Peshawar had more to do with the logistic supply problems of the Afghan army . When Sikh reinforcements from Lahore arrived , the Afghans decided to return to Kabul . The Afghans claimed victory , though they failed to achieve their main objective . The impression which resulted from the ensuing conflict was such as to convince the men of Dost Mohammad ' s army of their total inability to contend with the Sikhs , but the death of Hari Singh Nalwa was a serious set back to the Sikh Forward Policy . " Even if the victory had been more decided " observed the author of the Peshawar Gazetteer sixty years later , " it would have been dearly purchased by the Sikhs , with the loss of so brave a warrior as Hari Singh " Aftermath . As a result of this battle , Jamrud and the Khyber pass became the western limits of Sikh influence . The loss of Hari Singh Nalwa proved a major blow to the Sikhs . In June 1839 , the death of Ranjit Singh plunged the Sikh Empire into dynastic conflict . The British eventually fought two wars to defeat and dissolve the Sikh Empire . On death of sardar Hari Singh Nalwa , the Kalsa Sarkar wazir Jawahar Singh nominated Sardar General Gurmukh Singh Lamba to restore the situation and guard the gains and the Fort of Jamrud .