reform and repression, 1901–19Khan and his family to drive them around the capital and surrounding
countryside. The Amir also brought back cameras and became an avid
photographer. His other passions were golf and tennis, and towards the
end of his reign the Amir spent more and more time at these pleasures to
the serious detriment of the affairs of state.
Anglo-Afghan relations and the Anglo-Russian ConventionDespite the Amir’s warm reception in India, Anglo-Afghan relations took
another turn for the worse in the year after he returned to Afghanistan with
the signing of the Anglo-Russian Convention in August 1907. The outcome
of painstaking negotiations that were precipitated by the failure of the Dane
Mission, the Convention formalized Russia’s and Britain’s spheres of influ-
ence in Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet. Russia accepted that Afghanistan
was in the British sphere of influence, provided Britain did not invade the
country, and in return Britain conceded Russia’s right to equal trade and to
communicate directly with Afghan officials on matters of a non-political
nature. This would have been something of a victory for the Amir, but yet
again Britain had not bothered to inform the Amir about the negotiations
or their outcome. Habib Allah Khan only heard about the terms of the
Convention a month after it had been signed when Lord Minto wrote to
the Amir asking for his signature on the document – for the Convention
was not legally binding until Habib Allah Khan had formally signified his
consent. The Amir was both humiliated and horrified when he read the
terms of the Convention. Nasr Allah Khan and most of the royal council
opposed the agreement and were angry that Britain had left Afghanistan
out of the loop in negotiations with Russia over matters that impinged on
the country’s sovereignty. In the end, Habib Allah Khan delayed a formal
response to the treaty for nearly a year.
Details of the Anglo-Russian Convention eventually leaked out to
the wider public and fuelled a rising tide of anti-British sentiment. In
May 1908 when the Hadda Mullah declared a jihad in support of a revolt
against British rule by the Mohmands and Afridis, thousands of tribes-
men flocked to Nangahar to join the campaign. Najm al-Din called on the
Amir to place himself at the head of the mujahidin but Habib Allah Khan
temporized, whereupon ‘Abd al-Quddus Khan declared his intention to
take charge of the army and invade India. Behind the scenes, Nasr Allah
Khan had encouraged the jihad, turning a blind eye to the on-selling of
British rifles to the rebels across the Indian frontier. A few months later
the Anglo-Russian Convention was put under further strain when some