Part of the mission of people based media is to transfer the historical values of societies from one generation to the next. RASC News Agency, in carrying out its patriotic mission, conveys the historical events of the country to its audience in order to raise awareness of the political intrigues of past rulers. This is done so that their perspective on the country’s historical facts is formed realistically and free from ambiguity, ensuring that they do not commit repetitive mistakes for a better future in this geography.
After the signing of treaties such as Peshawar, Lahore, Kandahar, Jumrud, and Durand, which were prepared by power-hungry tribal rulers of the country to secure their political survival by accepting disgraceful deals and selling political sections of the vast region of The Khorasan, Amir Abdul Rahman Khan Barakzai signed the first Durand Treaty with the British government in 1893. Based on the first Durand Treaty, for the first time, Amir Barakzai legitimized all the treaties signed by previous rulers with colonial powers such as British of that time and recognized the separate lands detached from the great Khorasan. This once again made him subject to the influence of the British of that time, demanding the determination of the geographical boundaries of his sovereignty. Amir Barakzai’s request, with the signing of the first Durand Treaty, led to the determination of the country’s geographical boundaries by the British.
Based on the provisions of the first Durand Treaty, which was signed by Abdul Rahman Khan with the British of that time, the northern borders of the country have been officially recognized as follows: “The eastern and southern borders of the country of His Excellency Amir Sahib from Wakhan to the Iranian border along a line drawn on the map, which is also attached to the treaty.” In this treaty, Amir Barakzai has also agreed that: “He will never interfere or encroach upon the territories outside this line which are located towards India.”
According to Article III of the first Durand Treaty, Abdul Rahman Khan has committed himself not to interfere or encroach upon Swat, Bajawur, and Chatral, and to let the British government keep those areas under its control. In the final part of this disgraceful treaty, British Indian colonialism has committed itself to granting an additional or “increased” six hundred thousand rupees annually as an increase in the current annual allowance of twelve hundred thousand rupees given to His Excellency the Amir, as a submissive reward from Abdul Rahman Khan Barakzai.
As the colonists gradually exploited the free people of The great Khorasan, rulers by trade, for implementing their last unjust and imperialist demands, Amir Abdul Rahman Khan once again prepared to sign the second disgraceful treaty with this colonial time monster, which is famous in the country’s history as the second Durand Treaty. Since this treaty was also signed with the British Indian side and a person named “Sir Henry Mortimer Durand,” it has been named accordingly.
According to the account of contemporary Afghanistani history, the first Durand Treaty has been the worst type of historical treaties signed by the rulers of this region, as it officially allowed Amir Barakzai to passively concede the lands of The Great Khorasan to the English in order to establish his personal throne and power against the British.
In the book “Afghanistan in the past five centuries,” it is mentioned that “Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, once again, repeated his previous action of signing the ‘Humiliating Treaty’ in 1889 in order to safeguard his throne and crown, as he felt that if he did not comply with the British demands and the Third Anglo-Afghanistani War began, the people, who had suffered from his fourteen-year oppression, would rise against him within the country, which would be detrimental to his personal interests.”
After enduring a long period of British colonial rule and surrendering to the power-hungry tribal leaders who disregarded the humiliating treaties, Amir Habibullah Khan, the son of Abdul Rahman Khan, also signed a treaty with the British in 1905. According to historical accounts, in the early days of his reign, Amir Habibullah Khan reaffirmed his commitment to the treaties that his father and ancestors had signed with the British and confirmed through a new treaty that: “The aforementioned king hereby accepts and affirms that he will accept and abide by the terms of the previous agreements and treaties concluded by my father with the British government in matters relating to domestic and foreign affairs.”
Based on this treaty, the King of Afghanistan once again accepted the British colonial subjugation and no changes were made to the country’s political and geographical course under the new political circumstances. After the assassination of his son, Amir Habibullah Khan, his successor, Amanullah Khan, also concluded a treaty with the British government on August 8, 1919, titled the “Rawalpindi Peace and Friendship Treaty,” which stated in Article IV: “To reestablish the ancient friendship that has existed between Afghanistan and Britain for so long.” In another section of this treaty, Amanullah Khan pledged to adhere to what his predecessors had committed to with the British. The fifth article of the Rawalpindi Treaty, signed by Amanullah Khan and the British, stipulated: “The Afghanistan government accepts the border between India and Afghanistan, which the late Amir had accepted.”
Although after Amanullah Khan, rulers such as Zaher Shah, Daoud Khan, Taraki, Hafizullah Amin, and Dr. Najib also signed treaties with the colonizers of their time during their periods of power, the trend of power-seeking with external support still persists among the tribal politicians in the country. However, what is evident is that history, as an effective witness in understanding the mistakes of the past and preventing their repetition, has not been utilized in Afghanistan. The recurring patterns of falling into the clutches of colonial powers for the continuation of power and their monopoly still persist at present.
