In 1890 Umra Khan expelled and dispossessed the Khan of Dir, and in 1893 he attacked the Dusha Khel and drove out the Khan of Aladand, putting in a nominee of his own. In the same year the last surviving son of the Akhund died, and the succession, though temporarily in abeyance, was recognised in a son, Saiyid Badshah, of the elder Mian Gul. Then, for the next two years, there was continual internal fighting in Swat, but, so far as the Indian Government was concerned, it appeared that while the Khans were anxious to be loyal, the priesthood was persistently preaching against us. Prior to the year 1895 no British troops had ever entered the Swat Valley, and the events which led to this forward policy, with the operations which resulted, will be found described in Chapter VII. The Swatis opposed us in that year on the Malakand, but quiet and friendly feelings were soon restored, and on the withdrawal of our force they seemed to acquiesce in the establishment of our posts on the Malakand at the entrance to their valley, and at Chakdara where their river was bridged. When Umra Khan fled from Swat, the Khan of Dir returned, reassumed possession of his original territory, and became heir to that of his immediate predecessor; but his rule was not altogether acceptable or popular. There was a good deal of friction and constant faction fights; the Khan interfered perhaps rather more than was wise, and his subjects made constant appeals to the British Political Agent at the Malakand. So far as our presence in the country was concerned, no resentment was shown, and the annual reliefs of the Chitral garrison were carried out in 1896 and 1897 without a shot being fired in Swat. Early in 1897 the Swatis, like all Pathans along the border, had been influenced and disquieted by the preachings of the Hadda Mullah and others in Dir and Swat, but no serious trouble was anticipated until, about July, there appeared in Lower Swat a Buner Mullah, afterwards known as “the Mad Fakir.” Regarded everywhere at first as an irresponsible lunatic, his preachings soon attracted earnest attention and large audiences, but no actual disturbance was expected to result.