BRIGANDS IN AFGHANISTAN

Taranaki Daily News, 13 December 1930, Page 7

BRIGANDS IN AFGHANISTAN

SCATTERED MOUNTAIN CLANS. MOSCOW INFLUENCES APPARENT. Abdul Qadir Khan, in the course of a recent article in the Times, -wrote: Since King Nadir ascended the Afghan Throne in October, 1929, after his victorious cariipaign against the usurper Bricha-i-Sakao, he has worked hard, in spite of bad health, to reorganise the. country, a task of immense difficulty. The king haS . had the loyal support of the southern and eastern tribes, who wore so opposed to Amanulla’s schemes of westernisation, and now even the northern tribes of Kohistan, who supported Bacha-i-Sagao, offer no opposition. Nadir Shah was cargful to respect the. feelings of f this religious population and to restore the of the mullahs, who playel such a determining role between the central power and the tribes. ‘ Naturally, the rising of the north-west frontier excited great interest among .. the tribes of Afghanistan. The Pathans of the independent territory are of the same , stock as the population of Peshawar and the surrounding area, and on tlie other side have the closest racial and religious connections with the tribes in Afghan'territory.. King Nadir has taken strong measures to discourage the Afghan tribes oh the border from joining .the adventurers of Mohmand, Afridi and other scattered clans of the mountains who have been skirmishing in Britir-' territory. He has successfully used his prestige among all these sister tribes, even out of his own land, and lias urged them to seu,-. their grievances against the British Government in a friendly spirit. However, after the riots of Peshawar in April it was easy for, Ccagress extremists to excite the racial feelings of the-neighbouring Moslem tribes .and to incite them, through the fanatical mullahs, to carry on a

“bjihad,” or Holy War, against the “Kafirs” (the unfaithful) and to avenge Hi©'Victims of the repression. — . It- is possible to detect Soviet influences behind the scenes, at least in the tactics of the “Red Shirts,” whose leaders have closely copied the methods of Moscow. Whether the programme of these Congress propagandists in trying to utilise the traditional fighting power of the: Patfaans in order to embarrass the Indian Government corresponds .genuinely with.the racial and national aspirations of the Pathans is still uncertain. Among the most enlightened people of the north-west frontier the feeling is predominant that their real interest, as Moslems and as kinsmqn of the Afghans, is not to play the game of the Hindu oligarchy, but to preserve their owx national traditions. When the tribal rising had upset the borderland the Afghan Government sum- . moned niost of the tribal chiefs and priests, including the famous Mullah of Chaknawar, and Badshah Ghul, son of the famous Haji of Turangzai, to visit Kabul, and Jias made every effort to

warn them of the imprudence of interfering in the internal affairs of the Indian Government. The King shrewdly discourages any influx of Russians. Nadir Shah knows well that the paramount interest of his country is to be linked with the progressive and scientific world of the West, and he knows, too, that the fundamental principles of tlie Soviets are really hostile to Islamic ctilturft arid tractions. Tn sum. Nadir Shah is pursuing a policy of moderation with rijficaJß. .