reform and repression, 1901–19proposals that had nothing to do with the original intent of his treaty. Since
Curzon was not prepared to accept the Afghan terms, he decided that no
treaty was better than a bad one and instructed Dane to secure the Amir’s
formal acknowledgement that the 1880 and 1893 agreements were still valid.
Lord Balfour, the British Prime Minster, disagreed, arguing that to recall
Dane without securing a treaty would be a diplomatic humiliation. A furi-
ous row ensued that ended with Balfour ordering Curzon to instruct Dane
to sign a treaty, even if it did not include any of Britain’s original terms.
On 21 March 1905 Dane and the Amir signed the Kabul Treaty, which
was a significant defeat for British diplomacy but marked Afghanistan’s
first step to becoming an independent nation. To the relief of Curzon and
Balfour, the Amir reconfirmed the 1880 and 1893 treaties; in return he
retained the annual subsidy and the right to import unlimited supplies of
arms from India. However, while Britain continued to control Afghanistan’s
foreign affairs, the treaty title stated the agreement was made between
Britain and the ‘State of Afghanistan’ and referred to the Amir as the
‘independent King’ of Afghanistan. For Habib Allah Khan this meant his
personal status, as far as the imperial pecking order was concerned, was
now that of a monarch rather than a subordinate ruler, while Afghanistan,
for the first time, was indirectly accorded recognition as a nation state.
Three months after the signing of the Kabul Treaty, Curzon resigned
citing irreconcilable differences between himself and Balfour over Central
Asian policy.
Following the failure of the Dane Mission, Britain set out to explore
new ways to defend India against Russian aggression. Exploiting Russia’s
military weakness in the wake of its defeat by Japan, Britain opened nego-
tiations with St Petersburg aimed at formal recognition of Afghanistan’s
neutrality and status as a buffer state under international law. Despite refer-
ring to him as an independent king, Britain did not bother to inform the
Amir of these proceedings, nor was he consulted. Britain also strength-
ened its military alliance with Japan, a move designed to tie down Russian
forces in Manchuria and so reduce the risk of an invasion of Afghanistan.
Amir Habib Allah Khan’s state visit to IndiaCurzon’s replacement, Lord Minto, adopted a less confrontational approach
to Anglo-Afghan relations. He invited the Amir to India shortly after he
arrived in India and, despite objections from Nasr Allah Khan and the
anti-British, Sunni faction, Habib Allah Khan accepted. The Amir arrived
in Peshawar in early 1906, and for the next three months British officials