After reaching Sirhind and Karnal, the Afghan and Baluch armies turned back. In Sirhind, which Abdali found in ruins, his ally Ala Singh of the Phulkian misl claimed that he had tried to prevent Sikhs from destroying the city. The Patiala chief brought gifts for Abdali and promised to repopulate Sirhind. Giving Ala Singh the title of raja—thus making him the first Sikh to be called a prince or king—Abdali, who hoped to divide the Sikhs, also announced Ala Singh as his Sirhind governor. In 1765, ‘Ala Singh was probably the most powerful of the Sikh chiefs not only of the cis-Sutlej region…also
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