"ملخص للأحداث الرئيسية. ١٩٠٨" [ظ‎‎٦‎٢] (١٥٦/١٢٩)

112
No answer being received the Secretary of State for India directed that a
direct reply of some sort must be elicited. Accordingly a letter dated 6tb
August 1908 was sent to the Amir, in which the Amir was asked to send an
early reply to the Viceroy’s letter of the 10th September 1907. On the 16th
September a letter, dated 14th August 1908, was received from the Amir by the
hand of the Afghan Envoy. The Amir merely forwarded the opinion ot his
State Council on the Convention and expressed no opinion on his own befall.
The opinion of the Council was not at all favourable to the Convention. They
maintained that its terms were inimical both to Afghan and British interests.
The reply extended to 54 pages in which many extraneous subjects were dis
cussed such as the treaties concerning Persia and Tibet, the British-Japanese
treaty, and the strategy connected with the defence of India and Afghanis
tan etc., etc.
The receipt of this letter was at once acknowledged by the Viceroy, hut a
reply was not despatched until the 8th December 1908 when it was endeavoured
to combat the objections of the Council and to prove to them that the treaty was
really framed in the interests of Afghanistan. In the meantime intimation
was received that the Russian Government was quite prepared to abide by the
terms of the Convention, even though the formal consent of the Afghan Gov
ernment was not received.
As reported in last year’s summary the British Agent at Kabul, Fakir Saiyid
Iftikhar-ud-din, wished to resign his appointment. The Amir, however, did
not approve of the Government’s nomination of the Hon'ble Malik Umar Hayat
Khan, Tiwana, CUE., to be his successor. Accordingly a few weeks’ leave was
granted to Pakir Saiyid Iftikhar-ud-din, who reached India on the 11th March
and rejoined his appointment at Kabul on the 12th June.
The position of Muhammad Ali Khan Rana, British Representative at
Kandahar, did not improve. The Amir requested that he might he recalled
as his conduct had passed the stage of tolerance. Apparently charges were
trumped against him with a view to obtaining possession of the house that had
been occupied by successive news-writers for many years. The Representative
was shortly requested to vacate his house and instructed to reside in an
inferior dwelling in a filthy locality. Neither in the matter of houses nor in
other respects do the Afghan authorities reciprocate the favoured treatment
granted to their Envoy at Government head-quarters.
Internal.
Reports are most conflicting with regard to the respective relations of the
Amir and his brother, Sardar Nasarulla Khan, in the Government of the king
dom. There seems little doubt that the Amir is of an indolent turn of mind
and quite prepared to delegate the management of affairs to other people. An
impression is, therefore, gained that Nasarulla Khan is virtually responsible for
the control of State affairs; on the other hand ample proof is forthcoming that
the Amir is quite capable of taking up the reins when he considers it to be
necessary. Sardar Nasarulla Khan undoubtedly fosters the anti-British spirit
that is only too apparent in Eastern Afghanistan. It is not certain whether
this is done on his own initiative or under the secret instigation of the Amir.
The Amir seems to be genuinely anxious to improve the corrupt adminis
tration of local officials. Several officials have been recalled to render their
accounts and have been dismissed if the investigation did not prove satisfactory.
Lawlessness and disorder seem to be on the increase. Under the present
regime the punishment of delinquents is not carried out with the same ruthless
severity as under the late Amir. The result is that all travellers complain of
the insecurity of the roads. Gangs of armed men are met everywhere and
superiority of force is the only safeguard for the protection of property. Even
the troops of the Amir, stationed on the road between Kabul and Landi Kotal
for the preservation of order, rob and plunder wayfarers freely. The European
employes of the Amir and the British Agent at Kabul reported that on their
way to and from Kabul they were only protected with difficulty by their
escorts from open violence.