It was a mess before that as well. Before the Great Game between the Brits and Russians, it was a Great Game between the Sikhs and Durranis [0], and before that between the Mughals and Safavids [1][2] (my Nani traces her heritage to Hindu/Sikh community in Malakand).
The local political structure in the region was always clan driven due to the 300 years of near anarchy in the region stretching from Khorasan to Punjab following the collapse of the Safavid and Mughal Empires.
The local political structure in the region was always clan driven due to the 300 years of near anarchy in the region stretching from Khorasan to Punjab following the collapse of the Safavid and Mughal Empires.
[0] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan%E2%80%93Sikh_Wars
[1] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal%E2%80%93Persian_Wars
(Slight disagreement with the above wiki page - I wouldn't treat Afsharids as Persian)
[2] - https://thediplomat.com/2015/10/300-years-ago-afghanistans-g...