'Muscat-Omani relations' [‎99r] (207/412)

D.O. No.S.993 -3 /62.
r iX C^r L 9^ ^ C^lnO-tLy ^
BU C ' • "
Zero
Oi+:.■•■ ll^l^
C0^F.
POLITICAIj agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. ,
JUSCAT,
Dated ISth.
1945.
'Vould you please refer to my Derni-offic^e.l letter No.S.771-8/62,
.K.l,
dated the 2Sth. lay.
dated the 17th. ay, 1945 and my telegram No
1945 regarding tribal affairs?
2. When I saw him shortly after my return from recess, the Sultan
told me that he was very pleased with the result of his talks with
the Oman: Shaikhs. He had found Shaikh Sulaiman's attitude particularly
encouraging and said he felt that this might be the beginning of a more
general move of the Shaikhs of the hinterland in his favour. He des
cribed Sh aikh Ali as n a completely changfed ma n" (by which he means
that he caiTnow r^ly,_.onJi is supr ort) while he^ thought that in Shaikh
Sulaiman he had a powerful"ally irf any future dealings vrith Oman and,
what is more important, one on whom he could rely. VThile expatiating
on the position these two Shaikhs occupied in Oman, the Sultan made
the statement that provided Shaikh Isa of the Sharqieh kept his word
andremainec neutr- , lie was comicient ol be:n a' le to^occupy" 0: :an
orr ^Ee death of the Imam without bloodshed. Any opposition that did
oc-c"r would lye from the Hinawis and its extent would largely depend
on Shaikh Isa.
3. ./hether or not his ixitri ues with these Shaikhs included the
accelerated 1 demise oi the I" la. remains to be seenj the Imam is now an
ola man, but reports indicate that he has recovered from the recent
illness anc is on the move again. ./hat, however, seems certain is that
^ ucr of the Saltan's ti le will be devoted to preparing for the day when
he can occupy the principal forts of the interior. The alarm of the
Imam at the present turn of events is indicated b; his efforts to disuade
S'haikhs Ali and Sulaiman from meet in ~ the Sultan at Sur > the despatch
of spies to uscat during tie Sultan's tall s with these Shaikhs and
1 is sum ions to 3haikh Sulaima to visit him at Nizwa as soon as the
latter/-
e Hon'ble Lt. Col. A.C. Galloway, C .B.E.,
"g. Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persia Gulf
J SHIRE.