Coll 28/8 ‘Persia; Diaries; Sistan & Kain, April 1927 – 1933’ [‎115r] (240/434)

CONFIDENTIAL.
2549
2
&
Diary ol His Majesty’s Consul for Sistan and Kain for the Month of February 1930.
"Mils Majesty’s Consular Officers.
12. Captain W. H. Critien arrived at
Sistan on February 3rd and assumed
charge of the duties of Medical Officer
and ex-officio Vice-Consul.
Captain L. Steveni. Military Attach^,
Meshed, returned to Duzdap from India
on the 8th and proceeded to Meshed.
Sarhad and Persian Baluchistan.
13. Early in the month Baluchis report
ed, with considerable detail, that the
General Officer Commanding in the
Sarhad had been ambushed and killed
near Sarbaz. The report subsequently
proved incorrect, but was the result of a
small party of Persian troops under a
Yawar being ambushed. The General
Officer was not present with this Party.
Reports received at Duzdap and
Mirjawa indicate that the Persian losses
in the recent operations leading up to
the occupation of Sarbaz amounted to
about 250 killed.
The General Officer Commanding has
been actively engaged in disarming the
tribes in the Pishin-Balu Kalat area.
He recently wrote that he had recovered
1,200 rifles and that all the sardars had
visited him and promised obedience to
the Government, with the exception of
Abdul Hussain of Remishk. r J he latter
had been implicated in the sale, as slaves,
of some Persian soldiers (vide paragraph
96 of Diary for December 1929) and was
consequently afraid to surrender. The
General Officer stated that he had offered
him pardon for this act. At the end of
the month news was received thp y t the
Sardar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. had fled in the direction of
Bandar Abbas and that the General
Officer Commanding was pursuing him
with a force of about two hundred men.
Sistan and Qainat.
14. In Sistan Sarhang Murtaza Khan,
Frontier Commissary, has continued to
be very energetic in Municipal affairs.
Trees have been planted in all the prin
cipal Khiyabans and a Public Garden
has been laid out.
Owing to the considerable rise in the
price of food-stuffs great distress existed
among the poor, and the number of
beggars in the streets always consider
able, has recently much increased.
Sarhang Murtaza Khan, caused all
Persons without means of subsistence to
be gathered into a Poor House where they
are fed and the able-bodied made to
work free for the Municipality. Muni
cipal bread shops have also been started
and have proved a great boon to the
people. Before, this there were no regu
lar bakeries and the price charged for
bread baked by private individuals was
very high.
The Nazmieh have again become
active in enforcing the wearing of the
Kulah Pehlavi. It has been announced
that very severe steps will be taken
against any offenders, after the com
mencement of the Persian New year.
It is understood that the status of the
Customs Office at Sistan will be reduced
from the beginning of the New Year and
that the Customs Officer will be replaced
by a subordinate official.
The news of the closing of the Im
perial Bank of Persia, Sistan Branch,
has not caused as much interest as was
at first expected. The enthusiasm at
first displayed towards inducing the
National Bank to open a branch, appears
to have died down. A good deal of
money is made in Sistan by officials, who
do not care for the extent of their Bank
balance to be known in official quarters,
and they apparently distrust the National
Bank in this respect. The majority of
the officials have transferred their
accounts to other branches of the Impe
rial Bank ; the Governor has transferred
part of his funds and the remainder he
has lodged with Indian merchants in
Sistan.
It is reported that officials in charge
of departments at Birjand have been
ordered to submit fortnightly reports
on the operations of their departments.
Persian Military Affairs.
15. In Sistan landed proprietors have
been to 1 d that they will be held respon
sible for producing their tenants for
conscription in future end will likewise
be held responsible fo ' desertion of any
tenant who has been conscripted.