Within a short time news reached the Governor of Jelalabad, who sent out to arrest the risaldar, reporting at the same time the deed to the Amir. To save his own “face” Habib Ullah issued orders that the murderer should be taken back to the scene of his crime and there shot, the escort, which he had commanded, together with his family, being cast into prison. The action of the Amir came as a complete surprise to the risaldar; before execution he explained that, had he known that the Amir would have regarded the shooting of a feringhee with such severity, he would have shot the two witnesses as well.
In appreciation of Mr. Fleischer’s services the Amir went through the farce of announcing to the Government of India his intention of presenting the widow and her family with a pension. Many months have passed since then and no payment has been awarded, money being as difficult to screw out of Afghanistan as gold is from stones. Nevertheless, Mrs. Fleischer has appealed repeatedly, but without success, to the consideration of the Government of India and to the generosity of the Amir.
In spite of his amiability Habib Ullah does not possess a very secure seat upon his throne, the intrigues of the queen-mother and the jealousy of his brothers disturbing his position. Nor does he receive the confidence of his people or reveal sufficient strength of character to dominate the situation. Afghanistan needs the firm hand of a man, who is as much a maker as a ruler of men. Habib Ullah is weak-willed; and, in a country where the authority of the priest is a law in the land, his subserviency to priestly control and his subjection to the influence of his brother Nasr Ullah Khan have attracted universal attention. Nasr Ullah and the Queen Dowager, Bibi Halima, wife of the late Amir and the mother of Sirdar Mahommed Omar Jar Khan, are the stormy petrels in the Afghan sea of domestic politics. Habib Ullah in some measure understands the situation; and, doubtless, it is out of respect for their dignity that Bibi Halima and Omar Khan are closely protected by a strong detachment of the Imperial Bodyguard—so closely, indeed, that they are practically state prisoners.
HIS HIGHNESS PRINCE NASR ULLA KHAN
It is more difficult for the Amir to assail the position occupied by Nasr Ullah, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the Afghan army in the early days of Habib Ullah’s accession. Little attempt therefore is made by the Amir to curb the masterful will of his brother. Nasr Ullah Khan, who has become a Hafis or repeater of the Koran, also held the office of Shahgassi, or Gentleman Usher to the King. Just before the advent of the Dane Mission at Kabul he was created an Itwad-ul-Dowlah or Pillar of the State. In his dual capacity he threw into the scales already settling against the Mission the whole weight of his influence, ultimately securing its complete discomfiture. He is not, perhaps, the most reliable prop to the policy and rule of his brother, since he aspires to the throne for himself; and, there is no doubt that when opportunity offers, he will make a bid for it. At the moment neither his plans nor his partisans are prepared, but events move with such swiftness in Afghanistan that no one can gauge more than approximately the varying fortunes of the situation. Serious family quarrels have compelled the Amir to exercise his authority in the arbitrary way common in Afghanistan. The first step taken was in 1904, when the Omar Jar was deprived of his bodyguard, the men being sent back to their regiments. The next step was to remove him from his office as head of all Government officials, an appointment in which he had succeeded Nasr Ullah Kahn in 1902. These proceedings caused much excitement in the capital and public feeling increased when it became known that the Bibi Halima had refused to accept the allowance assigned to her for the upkeep of her household. Matters became further complicated by an incident which roused the Amir’s anger against the “Queen’s” faction. Omar Jar ordered the Master of the Horse to send him the favourite charger of the late Amir. This request was disregarded, and the unfortunate officer, on being summoned to give an explanation, was so maltreated by the Sirdar’s retainers that he died from his injuries. When news of these proceedings reached the ears of the Amir, the Bibi Halima and her son were directed to leave the palace where they had resided since the demise of Abdur Rahman, Habib Ullah finally decreeing that they should be confined to another residence, where they are practically state prisoners. His Highness is said to have asked two of the principal mullahs in Kabul to adjudicate upon the causes of the strained relations existing in his family; but, although a temporary compromise was established, no permanent reconciliation was obtained. It is necessary to study carefully the table of the Amir’s descent[36] to understand the precise position of affairs existing to-day in Afghanistan.
Even in Afghanistan women wield an influence over the affairs of the state, and its domestic policy is never without the disturbing effect of a jealous woman’s interference. Indeed, the sway of the harem in Court circles at Kabul is as pronounced as the power of the priests—a condition of affairs that is no small departure from the old order, when women and priests were relegated to the background. Since the ascent of the present Amir to the throne there have been changes in the army, in the state and in the harem. Three wives have been divorced—a woman of the Mohmund tribe; a woman from the Helmund country who had only been a few days in Kabul and the daughter of Saad-ud-Din Khan, Hakim of Herat, the will of the Kabul priests prevailing upon Habib Ullah to enforce the spirit of the Koran, which forbids the maintenance of more than four wives. The number of concubines is unrestricted and the strength of the royal harem in this respect increases constantly, slaves of prepossessing appearance—in the service of the queens—being chosen. Their end is usually disastrous, and the hapless woman who, as a slave, excites the admiration of the Amir is generally—“removed.” The four wives who have survived this example of priestly authority are: (1) the mother of Aman Ullah; (2) Ulia Jancah (the daughter of Yusef Khan Barakzai, the favourite wife until recently—she is the mother of a daughter); (3) the daughter of Ibrahim Khan; and (4) the mother of Inayat Ullah. The child of Yusef Khan, Ulia Jancah, is known in the intimate circle of the harem as the Hindustani queen. She is a woman of education, charm and accomplishment. She reads and writes; as a former pupil of an Indian seminary, she also sings and plays the piano. She is no admirer of the Afghan ruler, his people, or the state; and it was the chance expression of this aversion which brought about her displacement.
