CALM IN AFGHANISTAN

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 974, 17 May 1930, Page 30

CALM IN AFGHANISTAN

GOOD RELATIONS WITH BRITAIN OPTIMISM FOR FUTURE Normal relations between Britain and Afghanistan have now been 'restored, says an Indian correspondent. King Nadir Khan’s brother, Shah Wali Khan, is now in residence at the Afghan Legation, iu London, and Mr. Maconachie, the new British Minister, will soon leave for Kabul. It is reasonable to hope that the comparative calm which prevails -will not soon be disturbed. At the momenf the prospect is fair. King Nadir Khan is not only the most distinguished soldier Afghanistan possesses; he is without doubt the ablest and most experienced man iu the country, and he has the advantage of possessing three brothers united to him by common loyalty—a family asset sometimes lacking iu Oriental courts —who are also in the first rank. One of these he has sent to represent him at the Court of St. James, thus showing a true appreciation of the fact that a sound Afghan foreign policy must inevitably be based upon friendly relations with Great Britain and India as well as Moscow. In selecting Mr. Maconachie for the Kabul Legation, the Foreign Office ha 3 made a wise conservative choice. With the rank of Counsellor of Legation, Mr. Maconachie, himself an Indian Civil Servant, accompanied Sir Francis Humphrys when he first went to Kabul in March, 1922, to recreate the British Legation after an interval of more than 40 years since the tragic end of Cavagnari. Sir Francis Humphrys has indeed the distinction of being the first British Minister in Kabul who served his term and left the country without being murdered. That is, to say the least, an important precedent to have created which will appeal to his ancestors.