RELATIONS
OF DIR, SWAT AND BAJOUR TRIBES WITH KABUL
Prior to our entry into this
country in 1895 , it was the custom for numerous headmen to pay visits to Kabul
, and on the pretext of tendering their homage to the Amir to obtain grants of
money from him . Certain tribes and persons were in receipt of more or less
regular annual allowances from the Amir . It is difficult to accurately
ascertain what these were . Allowances were , it appears , paid to some of the
Utman Khel clans . The Khan of Nawagai received an annual allowance , of about
13,000 Kabuli rupees . A large number of headmen in Lower and Upper Swat
received small allowances irregularly paid .
After the settlement arrived at between
the Amir and the Government of India in 1893 regarding the Indo-Afghan boundary
, the Amir appears to have ceased to pay many of these allowances . To some he
has continued payment , notably to Haji Mir Zaman , a Shamozai Utman Khel Malik
, who received from 2,000 to 3,500 Kabuli per annum and Fatteh Mahmed Khan ,
brother of Wilayat Khan , Khan of Jhar , who received about 2,000 Kabuli per
annum . Adam Khan and Arbab Khan Ambhar Utman Khel Maliks have also , it would
appear , on recently applying to the Amir for a renewal of their old allowances
, received something from him .
Besides the above there are several
persons who belong to this country , who , from family quarrels or other
reasons , have been obliged to take refuge in Afghanistan . These have as a
general rule received kind treatment from the Amir and been given means of
maintenance . Among the more important of these are Utman Khel of Jandol , and
Inayatullah Khan , a brother of the Nawab of Dir ,who lives in Kabul and is
said to receive Rs.6,000 per annum .
Apart from the recipients of the above
allowances there are many men employed throughout Dir , Swat and Bajour as
Afghan spies and newswriter . These are employed , some by the Afghan officials
in Kunar and others by the Amir ‘s Agents in Peshawar .
In the religious and priestly classes ,
so numerous in this country , the principal agency for furthering and fostering
any political or fanatical intrigue is to be found . The history of the events
of 1897 shows how largely this agency was used by Afghan border officials .
In Bajour Afghan intrigue is always rife .
It has been the policy of successive Afghan Governors in Jalalabad and Kunar to
prevent matters setting down quietly in Bajour . No opportunity of stirring up
the Mamunds and Salarzais against the Khan of Nawagai is neglected , and every
effort is always made to prevent an amicable settlement between the Khan and
his tribes . The same is the case in the Musa Khel Mohamand tract of Mitai .
