IOR/L/PS/12/2217

Correspondence regarding the possible supply of military aid and training by the Government of India to the Government of Afghanistan, and the broader policy of the Imperial and Indian Governments toward Afghanistan.

The file was opened following a request by Mohammed Zahir Shah for arms, ammunition and training, in order to maintain internal security and defend against the possibility of external attacks. It comprises correspondence between the India Office, the Government of India External Affairs Department, HM Minister at Kabul, and the Foreign Office, regarding: Afghan approaches to India, America and Germany for arms, ammunition and aircraft; a proposal to promise support in the event of a Russian attack on Afghanistan; the restrictions of lease-loan arrangements on the potential supply of material; and proposals to increase the money available to the Afghan Reserve Fund, and to supply material as a gift.

The bulk of the file concerns the Afghan Military Mission to India, which took place between 4 December 1944 and 30 January 1945. The mission toured India, visiting British, American and Chinese positions, weapons and equipment factories, and training facilities. In addition to correspondence, the file contains the following documents concerning the mission:

• Translation of a letter received from the Afghan Minister for Foreign Affairs, requesting a military mission to India, and supplying details of the intended outcomes, f 244.
• Note by the Military Attaché at Kabul (Colonel Alexander Stalker Lancaster) on the proposed visit of the Afghan Military Mission to India during the winter of 1944-1945, ff 224-238.
• Preliminary tour programme of the Military Mission, including details of proposed delegates, ff 167-175, 150-152, and 132-139.
• Aide memoire on the offer of the supply of certain army weapons and equipment to the Afghan Government, ff 113-121, 127-131.
• 'General Report by the Military Attaché, Kabul, on the tour of an Afghan Military Mission in India during the period December 4th 1944 to January 30th 1945', including appendices providing Colonel Lancaster's impressions of the Afghan Mission Officers, an annotated tour programme, minutes of a meeting at Delhi between various Indian authorities and the two Senior Mission Officers, a copy of the Government of India offer of war material, and press clippings regarding the mission, ff 37-102.
• Statement showing details of the quantity and cost of the token military supplies offered to the Afghan Mission, ff 33-36.

There is also a small amount of correspondence regarding the success of the Mission, and arrangements for the supply of weapons and equipment to Afghanistan following the end of the war. This correspondence is continued in the file IOR/L/PS/12/2218.

The file includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 2-3).