1938: Afghanistan
Some slow progress toward improvement in living
conditions has been made in Afghanistan during recent years,
although the present Government has avoided the excessively-rapid
modernization undertaken by King Amanullah before his abdication in
1929. Very little change has been effected in the predominantly
nomadic life of the country, the native handicrafts of the towns, or
the limited foreign trade. The Government proclaimed new nationality
laws in April 1937, providing that children born of foreign parents
may acquire citizenship under certain conditions and that Afghan
citizens may be deprived of their rights in case of undesirable
activities, such as service in a foreign army. Several consignments
of military airplanes, purchased from Great Britain and Italy, were
delivered early in 1938 at Kabul, after being transported by
tractor-drawn trucks over the road from the Khyber Pass. The new
airplanes will be flown by Afghan pilots, trained in India.
A serious revolt arose among Waziristan
warriors during June 1938, when British Army officers discovered a
plot to overthrow the present Afghan dynasty. The leader of the
rebellion was Saiyd Muhammad Sadi, a Mohammedan fanatic from
Damascus, who was traveling along the frontier ostensibly to collect
funds for repairing a Syrian shrine damaged by earthquake. Some
suspicion arose that Italian influence was involved, since former
King Amanullah, now resident in Rome, has desired to regain the
Afghan throne. The Indo-Afghan frontier was closed for several
weeks, while British officials undertook punitive air bombings and
dispersed the rebellious tribesmen.
Little change in the international position of
Afghanistan has taken place in recent years. The Sirdar Mohamed
Hashim Khan, Afghan Prime Minister and uncle of King Zahir, visited
London in February 1937 and was received by King George VI. The
Afghan Government on July 8, 1937, signed the four-power Middle
Eastern Pact, by which Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran and Iraq pledged
mutual respect of frontiers, non-interference and non-aggression,
pacific settlement of disputes, and frequent consultation.
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