The Standoff at the Khyber Pass (1834–1835) was a short conflict from May 1834 to May 1835 by the Sikh forces led by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Afghan forces led by Dost Mohammad Khan. The conflict began as the Sikh Empire expanded into Peshawar, deposing the Peshawar Sardars, while also supporting the deposed Durrani dynasty in their attempts to return to the throne of Afghanistan under Shah Shuja Durrani.

Ranjit Singh, popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died around Ranjit's early teenage years, Ranjit subsequently fought several wars to expel the Afghans throughout his teenage years. At the age of 21, he was proclaimed the "Maharaja of Punjab". His empire grew in the Punjab region under his leadership through 1839.