IOR/L/PS/12/2173

The volume contains correspondence regarding the purchase by the Afghan Government of arms, ammunition and explosives from a number of sources, including the War Office and British and French firms.

It includes communications between British officials (HM Minister in Kabul and the Foreign Office) and the Afghan Foreign Ministry and Afghan legations to Paris and London, regarding: requests to purchase and transport materials; negotiations over customs dues and transport costs; requests for the recommendation of arms firms; and the quality of materials supplied by private companies.

Folios 552-567 consist of a memo titled 'Applications for the Export of Arms and Munitions to Afghanistan', providing details of the procedures to be followed, and a copy of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty (1921).

The file also contains correspondence between British and Indian officials (the War Office, the Board of Trade, the India Office Political Department, the Government of India Political Department, the Collector of Customs at Karachi) and a number of British firms, regarding: informal requests for permission to sell or transport munitions to the Afghan Government; applications for export licences; concerns over the quality and source of munitions; and details of alleged attempts by a German firm to supply arms, in possible violation of Article 170 of the Treaty of Versailles. The firms include: Messrs A Fleming; Gray, Dawes & Company; Mackinnon Mackenzie & Company; Imperial Chemical Industries Limited; and Machine Tools (India) Limited. The correspondence also includes information on the involvement of the French firm L'Office Générale de l'Air, and its dealings with Messrs A Fleming.

The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 4-5).