claimed descendant of Mirwais Hotak had declared an open revolt against Mahmud Shah, occupied Kandahar, and besieged Ghazni. While a second army marched to attack Kabul. Both battles were met on the same day, in the first battle at Shewaki, Mahmud Shah's army had massacred the Tokhi Ghilzais, and made a skull pyramid to celebrate his victory. The Second battle took place at Pul-i-Sangi, on the road from Ghazni to Kabul. which led to the death of Al-Rahim and the destruction of the rebellion of the Ghilzais. Instability and civil strife In 1801, an Anglo-Persian treaty was signed, the treaty termed to prevent Afghan expansion into Punjab, and for the Persians to strike if they did. In 1803, the Persians had struck Mashhad, the seat of Durrani Empire in Khorasan. News of the loss had caused massive backlash among Sunni religious leaders in Kabul, who in return incited attacks on the Qizilbash, and different Shi'a communities in Afghanistan. The riots were used as an excuse to try to curtail power from the Turkic Qizilbash, who had great influence in the Durrani Empire at this point, mostly from Timur Shah and his efforts. Members of the Durrani court and council had referred to the Qizilbash as Persians, although rather being ethnically Turkic. The Sunni and Durrani council had argued that if Persia was to strike Herat, the predominantly Shi'a Qizilbash would rise up in effort against the Durrani Empire. These campaigns had torn the empire of its stability even more, with the dire situation it was in. In the first week of 1803, while Fateh Khan and the Qizilbash were in Kandahar quelling rebellions and attempting to maintain the stability of the empire, prominent anti Shi'a figure Mukhtar Al-Daula, had denounced the Shi'a faith, regarding them as "blasphemers and heretics". And he called for the expulsion of all Qizilbash and Shi'as from the capital. This led to massive clashes with the Shi'a communities in Kabul and the Qizilbash. Mukhtar had declared a Fatwa against the Shi'as. The following Friday during congregational prayers, Khawaja Khanji had read the Fatwah out to the crowd. Once prayers had ended, the now forming mob had begun looting Shi'a and Qizilbash homes. Shah Mahmud was terrified of this, and had barricaded himself in the Bala Hisar, recalling Fateh Khan and his Qizilbash from Kandahar. When Mukhtar and Khawaja realized that Shah Mahmud was not going to