Whereas the Government of India have no desire to annex the territory of the Khan of Dir, but require a road to be kept open from the Swat Valley to Chitral territory. On succeeding to this father the late Khan of Dir, Nawab Aurangzeb Khan, the Khan of Dir, on behalf of himself and of his successors, fully and freely undertakes to carry out and abide by the terms detailed below:
I.
i. That he will keep open the road from Chakdarra to the boundaries of Chitral territory.
ii. That he will make any postal arrangements required.
iii. That he will protect the telegraph or telephone on any occasion when it is put up.
iv. That he will maintain the road, levy posts and camping ground enclosures in good repair, and
v.That he will protect the whole line with levies.
II. That:
i. All trade passing through the road from Chakdarra to Ashreth shall for ever be free from toll or tax within the Khan of Dir’s territories.
ii. No claim of any kind will be made to grazing or other rights on the Chitral side of the boundary as fixed by the Government of India between Dir and Chitral.
III. That at any time when the Government of India may wish to place troops temporarily on the Laram Hill or on the Dushakhel Range, the Khan of Dir will give sufficient ground for their accommodation, upon receiving a fair rent for the site or sites occupied.
IV. That he will abide by the present boundaries between Dir and Chitral and Afghanistan, and not to interfere in any manner whatsoever with any tribes or people beyond those boundaries, and promises that in the event of any dispute between him and any such tribes or people he will be guided by and will act in accordance with the advice and orders of the Government communicated through the Political Agent:
i. The boundary with Chitral as fixed by Government is the crest of the Lowari Range and the watershed.
ii. The boundary with Afghanistan is that which has been demarcated by Government.
V. The Khan of Dir with regard to the trade in timber obtained from the forests of Dir, if so required by the Political Agent:
i. Will allow the forests to be inspected by a qualified (Indian) Forest officer.
ii. Will no cut and place in the river in any one year a number of logs in excess of that which the Chief Commissioner, after consideration of the state of the Dir forests, may determine.
iii. Will employ directly, and not through a contractor, all the labour required before the timber reaches British territory.
iv. Will require contractors to maintain depots in British territory where the timber shall be stocked, and to pay such, if any, toll to the British Government as may be fixed.
v. Will cause each log to bear the registered mark of the Khan of Dir and of the purchaser.
VI. That no person or persons will be permitted to reside within the limits of the Dir State who are engaged in propaganda or other activities hostile to the British Empire. Similarly no schools or institutions wherein sedition against the British Empire is taught or encouraged, will be countenanced.
VII. That all necessary facilities to establish, should it be desired, a bonded warehouse for registration of opium and charas, either at Dir itself or at any other place on the Chakdarra-Lowarai road will be granted:
Provided that:
i. All expenses connected with the project initial or recurring, will be borne by the Government, and
ii. Should the warehouse be established at Dir itself the official in charge thereof is subordinate to the Khan of Dir.
VIII. The Khan of Dir undertakes to enquire carefully into any case in which persons, alleged to have committed an offense in British territory the Sam Ranizai or Swat Ranizai tracts or on the Chakdarra-Lowarai Road, take harborage within the limits of the Dir State, and if so required by the Political Agent, to associate the Assistant Political Agent, Chakdarra, with the tribunal appointed to try the offenders. The Khan of Dir further undertakes, in the case of any such persons being convicted, to recover and hand over to the Political Agent an adequate sum of money as compensation, to be paid to the complainants.
IX. The Khan of Dir undertakes to abide strictly by the terms of the following agreement by him or by his representatives on his behalf:
i. An agreement dated the 11th April 1925, with Alamzeb Khan, his second brother, by which on certain conditions, he has given him, in fief, the Jandul and other estates for his maintenance in addition to a cash allowance.
ii. Paragraph 1 of letter dated the 14th April 1925, addressed to the Political Agent, Malakand, in which he makes a detailed provision by the grant of certain lands and in cash, for the maintenance and education of his younger brother, Bakht Jehan Zeb Khan as well as for the maintenance of the latter’s mother.
iii. A settlement dated the 14th April 1925, between the representatives of the Dir State and of Swat relating to certain concession claimed by the Mian Gul in regards to the Adinzai tract.
X. In return for the above considerations as detailed in Clauses I to IX, the Government of India undertake to grant the Khan a payment of fifty thousand rupees a year, as they will defray the cost, as may be necessary for the maintenance of the levies.
XI. The payment for the levies will be made at the end of every month; the payment of the allowance to the Khan mentioned in Clause X above, shall be made in equal half-yearly installments, one payment in the spring of the year and one in the autumn.
These latter payments will be made with effect from the death of the late Nawab, i.e, the 14th February 1925, and the Khan Bahadur Shah Jehan Khan will receive any sums which were due to his father up to that date.
XII. The Government of India further undertake on their part, in consideration of the Khan accepting the conditions aforesaid and performing the services required by them, that they will not interfere with his administration of the country as fixed by its present boundaries.
Signed by me at Malakand this 13th day of May 1925.
SHAH JEHAN KHAN
……
SOURCE OF INFORMATION (REFERENCE):
A COLLECTION OF TREATIES, ENGAGEMENTS AND SANADS RELATING TO INDIA AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES, (VOLUME XI), (Revised and Continued upto 1929, Compiled by C.U. Aitchison, Mittal Publications, Dehli, Reprinted in 1983, Pages 438-440.
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