IOR/L/PS/5/376, ff 2-33

The papers mainly relate to the British-led invasion of Afghanistan. They chiefly comprise copies of reports by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Alexander Burnes, Envoy to Kelat, to William Hay Macnaghten, Envoy and Minister at the camp of Shah Shoojah [Shāh Shujā’ al-Mulk Durrāni], as forwarded to John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to the Government, Bombay [Mumbai], 18 March 1839-10 April 1839. Burnes’s reports relate to his negotiations with Mehrab Khan [Mir Mehrab Khan Beloch II, also spelled Mirhab in this item], the Khan of Kelat [Kalat], to secure the latter’s agreement (ff 7-8) to assist the Army of the Indus on its march into Afghanistan, by way of arranging the protection of provisions and stores coming and going from Shikarpoor [Shikarpur], a guard through the Bolan Pass, and supplies of grain for the troops, in return for the sum of one and a half lacs of rupees.

The main subjects covered are:

• Mehrab Khan’s concerns about possible repercussions from the Barakzye [Bārakzay] family, the local population, Persia [Iran] and Russia, if he supports the British
• Mehrab Khan’s equivocal attitude towards Shah Shoojah despite professing his allegiance, and his doubts about the potential success of the Army of the Indus in Afghanistan
• Mehrab Khan’s demand that the British guarantee his safety when he pays homage to Shah Shoojah and ensure that Shah Shoojah pays for any services he orders from him
• Burnes’s allegation that Mihrab Khan has been secretly communicating with Candahar [Kandahar] and is responsible for much of the plundering of the Army of the Indus in his Khorasan territory
• Burnes’s agreement with Macnaghten regarding measures to punish and ultimately dethrone Mehrab Khan for his alleged duplicity

Burnes also reports intelligence relating to anti-British ‘intrigues’ between Candahar and Sinde [Sindh] that are indicated within intercepted letters between the Ameers [Amirs] of Sinde and chiefs of Candahar.

Folios 19-26 comprise a memorandum of intelligence (‘Newsletter’), dated 2 May 1839. It covers: Lahore; Candahar; Cabool [Kabul]; Peshawur [Peshawar]; the Army of the Indus, notably its approach to the Bolan Pass and Candahar; Bokhara [Bukhara]; Kundooz [Kunduz]; Herat; Joudhpore [Jodhpur]; Lucknow; Nipal [Nepal]; Sikkim; and Items of General Intelligence.

Folios 27-32 comprise papers relating to the improvement of the ordnance in place for the defence of Bombay [Mumbai].