The hereditary title of
Sultan was passed down to Muqarrab after his ascendancy. Muqarrab Khan was acknowledged by
Nader Shah during
his invasion of the Mughal Empire. Mu'azzam Khan's sudden death led to an anarchy in
Pothohar. Muqarrab Khan immediately called Diwan Ahmed Khan Gakhar of
Mirpur and Mahabat Hayatullah Khan Gakhar of Akbarabad-Takhpari for a
Panchayat and a tripartite alliance was made. Jang Quli Khan Khattak, also known as Khojam Quli Khan utilising the dire state of the Gakhars, laid siege to the fortress of
Rawalpindi. Muqarrab Khan at once came to the defence of Amir Khan Firuzal of Rawalpindi and defeated and forced Jang Quli Khan out of Rawalpindi. Muqarrab Khan also helped Diwan Ahmed Khan in subduing the Andarhal hills centred around Mirpur from the
Chibs led by Asalat Khan Chib of Mauza Punir. Muqarrab then continued his expedition against Malik Khan Mangrial of Saila Kotla,
Jammu, a rival of Diwan Ahmed Khan. Malik Khan's forces were routed, and he himself was killed. After Nader Shah's invasion, the influence of the
Mughal Empire in Punjab was practically diminished. Thus, in 1741, Muqarrab Khan took the city of
Gujrat and made it his capital. He also built a
Baradari in the city and used it as his primary residence. This Baradari was renovated by
Ranjit Singh in 1835. After the
Fall of Punjab, it was given to the
deputy commissioner of Gujrat. Muqarrab Khan was again challenged in Pothohar, but this time by Himmat Khan Gakhar of
Domeli, one of his kinsmen. His main objective was to kill Muqarrab's commander-in-chief and was successful in doing so in an ensuing conflict. Muqarrab, in retaliation, pillaged and burned many villages and killed many of the preparators while the rest were pardoned through the intervention of Nawazish Ali Khan Gakhar of
Khanpur.
Allegiance to Ahmad Shah Durrani In December 1747,
Ahmad Shah Durrani crossed the
Indus River and razed the Gakhar town of Mu'azzam Nagar to ground. He also ordered the sacking of the
Tilla Jogian Temple complex. This forced the Gakhar chiefs to submit to him, and so did Muqarrab Khan, who was guaranteed his previous holdings in Pharwala, Dahan Gali, and Gujrat. Likewise, the
Sindh Sagar Doab and
Chaj Doab were allocated to Muqarrab as well in return for Durrani suzerainty. In 1758, the Afghan influence in Northern India was at its peak, and to challenge their authority, the
Marathas and their Peshwa
Balaji Baji Rao contacted various local leaders and rulers. Many of them like
Sukh Jiwan Mal of
Kashmir,
Adina Beg Khan of
Punjab,
Ghulam Shah Kalhoro of
Sindh and
Nasir Khan I Ahmadzai of
Kalat were already fighting against the Afghans. Muqarrab Khan called a Panchayat to discuss the matter, but in the end, decided to remain loyal to Durrani. In the winters of 1761–1762, Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded India again, but this time his primary focus were the
Sikhs. Muqarrab Khan helped Ahmad Shah and gave him the command of his forces. The Sikhs were defeated in the
Battle of Kup in 1762, which was followed by the
Vadda Ghalughara. Muqarrab Khan was awarded for his actions in this campaign and received a renewed title of
Nawab.
Invasion of Gujjar Singh Bhangi Gujjar Singh Bhangi, and
Lehna Singh Bhangi of the
Bhangi Misl and
Sobha Singh Kanhaiya of the
Kanhaiya Misl took
Lahore in 1765 and divided it among themselves. Gujjar Singh was invited by Chaudhry Rehmat Khan Warraich of
Jalalpur Jattan to attack Gujrat. Gujjar Singh set out at once from Lahore and capturing a total of 150 villages including
Wazirabad,
Eminabad and
Sodhra reached Gujrat in December 1765 where he was joined by Rehmat Khan. Muqarrab Khan put up a tough fight but lost the battle and sought refuge in the
Gujrat Fort, which was besieged afterwards. Muqarrab Khan fled Gujrat towards
Rohtas Fort on the back of an elephant while the surrounding area was captured by Gujjar Singh and added to his domain. ==Death==