Sykes' History of Persia Vol 2 (pdf) - Heritage Institute

466 HISTORY OF PERSIA
state of Kalat, and lastly of Persia itself, to fix a definite
boundary, and negotiations were opened with this object.
These culminated in an agreement for a joint commission
by Great Britain, Persia, and Kalat but ; owing to the persistent
obstructiveness of the Persian Commissioner and
the hostility of Ibrahim Khan, little or no progress was
made. General Goldsmid ultimately marched to Gwadur,
where he was joined by Major Lovett, who had made a
survey of the proposed frontier line, and was able to complete
the information previously collected. The British
Commissioner then gave his decision, delimiting the
boundary from a point east of Guattar (which must not
be confused with Gwadur) up to Kuhak. After some
demur the Shah accepted this line, which was favourable
to Persian claims ;
and General Goldsmid was encouraged
by the signal compliment to attempt a still more difficult
task.
The Sistan Question. The First Phase, 1863-18 70. One
of the most important questions which confronted the
British Government after the signature of the Treaty of
Paris was that of Sistan. This delta province was
Ahmad Shah
originally Persian, but it was annexed by
and formed part of his successor's empire. In the
internal struggles for power which subsequently distracted
Afghanistan it became attached alternately
to Kandahar
and Herat, Yar Mohamed Khan holding
it
tributary
during most of his lifetime. After his death the
Government of the Shah began to make good
its claims
on its lost provinces. Ali Khan, the chief of the
Sarbandi, 1
gave his adherence to Persia, and was honoured
with the hand of a Persian princess in marriage. This
occurred about 1857, and during the reign of Dost
Mohamed both Ali Khan and his successor, Taj
Mohamed, acknowledged the supremacy of Persia.
The Shah, during the years 1861-63, repeatedly invited
the British Government to intervene to protect Sistan
against Afghan aggression. The answer he received was
that, as the British Government did not recognize the
1
The Sarbandis were ancient inhabitants of Sistan. Carried off to Burujird by
Tamerlane, they were brought back by Nadir Shah.