The Base post office for the main force was at first situated at Kohat, and the Base office for the Peshawar column at Peshawar. When the troops marched through Tirah and took up their position for the winter in the Bara Valley, the Khyber Pass and the neighbourhood of Peshawar, Messrs. Dhanjibhoy established two tonga services connecting Peshawar with Bara and Jamrud, while beyond these places they arranged for the carriage of mails by a horse post. The mail service for the Peshawar column previous to this had been carried on by the Afridi horse contractors, and as the roads were improved the tonga services were extended up to Landi Kotal in the Khyber Pass and Gandao in the Bara Valley.
The postal arrangements lasted for a period of six months. On this occasion, too, the field post offices were specially authorized to sell newspapers to the troops and were allowed a commission on the sales.
The Tochi Field Force.
The postal arrangements in connection with the Tochi Field Force lasted for a period of about eight months, from July, 1897, to February, 1898.
The base of the operations was Bannu, which is 111 miles away from the railway at Khushalgarh, and, as soon as it was known that a force was to be mobilized at Bannu, arrangements were made for the introduction of an efficient tonga service from Khushalgarh to that place and for a proper railway connection between Golra and Khushalgarh. Between Khushalgarh and Kohat a feeble tonga service was already in existence under the management of the District Board of Kohat, while for the local demands an ekka service had been established between Kohat and Bannu. Neither of these lines could be relied upon to meet the special requirements for mails and passengers caused by the expedition, and Mr. Dhanjibhoy, the mail contractor of the Rawalpindi-Srinagar line, established a complete and efficient tonga service over the entire distance.
The postal arrangements were carried out very satisfactorily. Mr. W. T. van Someren was in charge of the actual arrangements in the field from the beginning till September, 1897, when he was relieved by Mr. F. O'Byrne, who remained in charge during the remainder of the operations.
The Tochi Valley Field Force.
After the breaking up of the Tochi Field Force in December, 1897, it was decided to retain in the valley a brigade of troops on field service scale under the command of the General Officer Commanding, Tochi. The troops were quartered in six military posts, and camp post offices were opened to serve them. During the Tochi Expedition there was a tonga service between Edwardesabad and Bannu, but this having been discontinued a new arrangement had to be made for a tonga service with Messrs. Dhanjibhoy and Sons for the conveyance of mails between Khushalgarh and Kohat and an ekka service between Edwardesabad and Miranshah and Datta Khel.
The Swat Valley Column.
When the second division of the Tirah Force was demobilized it was decided to retain a strong column in the Swat Valley to take up positions in Dir territory for the protection of the line of communications and the route of the relieving and relieved Chitral Force. The arrangement necessitated the opening of three field post offices from the 1st May, 1898, and from the same date the Swat Sorting Office at Nowshera was strengthened. It was also decided to retain the services of a Superintendent to accompany the column up to Dir territory and return with the relieved troops from Chitral.