"مجموعة من الصحف والتقارير التي استلمها النقيب المحترم ج. ك. نابيير، فيلق أركان حرب البنغال، بشأن مهمة خاصة في بلاد فارس، ١٨٧٤" [‎١] (٣٩٦/١٤)

JOURNALS AND REPORTS.
No. 1.
R eport of P roceedings in regard to the K haff R aib.
No. 11, dated Meshed, 19th August 1874.
From—Captain the Hon. G. 0. N apier , on special duty in
Persia, to 0. U. A itghison , Esq., C .S.I., Secretary to the
Government of India, Foreign Department.
I have the honor to enclose a copy of a letter which I have
addressed to His Excellency W. T. Thomson, Her Majesty's
Minister, Teheran, giving such information regarding the Khart
raid as I have been able to obtain. ^ _ . , . .
It will be seen from the enclosure that the Persian authorities
have a very decided objection to any close inquiry into the
circumstances of the raid. I have, therefore, for reasons noted
in the inclosure, deferred the prosecution of my journey to Ivhatr,
pending receipt of further instructions from Mr. rhornbon.
The main objection raised by His Excellency the Governor-
General of Khorassan to my visit to Khaff was, that it was
unadvisable to press inquiry into a matter which had been tor
some months settled to the satisfaction of both parties. Ihis
objection has weight only in so far as it is true that the parties
are really satisfied and not merely silent or quiescent until such
time as opportunity may offer for retaliation or prosecution by
other means of dormant claims, and I have as yet heard no
evidence of such satisfaction. .
The Afghans appear to have got back only a moiety of the
property plundered from them, and though the Ruler of Herat
may be satisfied or may make no further complaint, the owners of
the property will not share in that satisfaction and will certainly
only await a fair opportunity for righting themselves.
The Persian authorities allege that the raid by their people was
made in retaliation of a previous Afghan raid, of which however
I have as yet been able to obtain no independent proof It is
said that a body of 900 Turkomans and Afghans carried off a
number of sheep from the Khaff plain. In the present or rather
the normal condition of the border, according to Persian accounts,
such a raid would be a very probable occurrence, and it would
o-o so far to justify a retaliation that one is at a loss to understand
the extreme anxiety of the authorities^ on the border to prevent
inquirv. A reprisal made under such circumstances would hardly
call for more than explanation ; but the Persian authorities have
not only failed to furnish me with full information and opposed
my prosecuting the inquiry on the spot, they have also taken