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Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [‎534r] (1072/1354)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (673 folios). It was created in 28 Jul 1932-15 Jun 1935. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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Translation of letter Iio.fi/3/1271, dates the 25th Jamd
f r °“ Ris ^oallenoy the .(uler of
xvuwalt, to tli© olitxcal A^g©nt t Kuwait*
Attar Compliments,
In replying your caifidential letters Ho*ES5,
dated the 1st Aamad than! 1558 {81*9,55}, and No.848, dated
the 24th t amad thani 1552 (14*10*35) , X beg to give your
Excellency my further comments with regard to the killing
of the two Kuwaitis by the armed launch belonging to the
Fao Customs, and the wounding of two others in the same
Incident.
I hare gone through the report of the Iraq Customs
Director, copy of which you sent me, and. I find it far from
truth* To make quite certain about things, I renewed my
inquiries into the matter, and I fully satisfied myself
that the statement of Hasan f Ashoor and the survivors was
the truth, and it has been proved that the Customs launch
has for long made a practice of interfering and intercepting
boats at any place (on the high seas)* The boat in question
met the launch at the entrance of Khor Abdullah, and on©
of the launch crew shouted to the crew to lower their sail*
The latter from the start ware nervous that the launch would
treat them as she had often treated other boats, namely
that she would board then;, tear up their manifest, ant; tow
their craft to Fao declaring her to be a pri&e caught smug-
gling, so that they (the launch craw) might win a reward
from the Iraq Gowammmt, The nakhuda of the boat in ques
tion clearly also became afraid, though he was in possession
of a Fac manifest, which he had taken with him from Kuwait
and decided to run for Kuwait and not submit to examination.
Hext when the crew began to turn their sail i.e.(fc° legume
thair course back) the launch fired a volley at them and
killed two persons and wtmdncl two others. The suivi ors
(g Mn) after great difficulty and trouble, managed to return
to Kuwait*
It appears to a® quite certain that the Officer

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Content

The volume contains papers regarding the alleged smuggling of goods from Kuwait to Iraq, and attempts to broker Often a local commercial agent in the Gulf who regularly performed duties of intelligence gathering and political representation. an agreement between the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) and the Government of Iraq with regards to importation restrictions, customs appointments and effective frontier controls. It consists of correspondence between the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, 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 Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait, HM High Commissioner (and later Ambassador) at Baghdad, as well as communications received from Al Sabah and representatives of the Government of Iraq.

The file opens with correspondence concerning the activities of Kuwaiti water boats collecting drinking water at various points along the Shatt el-Arab: the Government of Iraq complained that the boats were not stopping at designated calling points, and that the boats were engaged in smuggling, while the Shaikh of Kuwait asked for the calling point requirement to be rescinded as it was causing interruptions to the water supply. The correspondence also documents instances where Iraqi customs barges had fired on Kuwaiti boats, killing and injuring merchants.

The bulk of the correspondence concerns efforts by HM Ambassador at Iraq, the 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 Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait, to broker Often a local commercial agent in the Gulf who regularly performed duties of intelligence gathering and political representation. an agreement between the two parties. Several conferences were arranged with a view to discussing the Iraqi proposals, viz: that a British Customs Director be appointed at Kuwait to oversee the importation of certain commodities (principally sugar, tea, matches, coffee, tobacco, cigarettes, and cigarette papers); and that the Shaikh co-operate with Iraqi efforts to institute an effective frontier control and customs cordon.

In addition to correspondence, the volume includes the following minutes and reports:

The volume includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 4-5).

Extent and format
1 volume (673 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 675; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-672; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [‎534r] (1072/1354), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2878, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100063011517.0x000049> [accessed 23 April 2024]

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