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Internal Security.
Khorasan.
6. Khorasan is still without*a governor-general and the governor and mayor
have not yet returned to Meshed from Tehran. Fathullah Pakrevan (Amir-i-Arfa)
(F.O. 169-M.A. 208) is reported to have refused the post of governor-general.
Opposition to his appointment is also reported to have come from religious circle^^ ^4
in Meshed who have bitter memories of Pakrevan’s previous tenure of that pos(|w
from 1934 to 1942, during which period Asadi, the custodian of the shrine, was^
shot for treason and a number of rioters were machine-gunned within the precincts
of the shrine.
7. Security on the Meshed-Zahidan road has deteriorated and all traffic
between Meshed and Turbat-i-Haidari after sunset has to travel in convoy with
a gendarmerie escort.
Khuzistan.
8. The following extract from Ahwaz Consulate-General Diary No. 18
(lst-15th October) gives an interesting picture of affairs on the Perso-Iraqi
border : —
Sepehr-Rad, the aged inspector of the Ministry of the Interior, has
inspected Dasht-i-Mishun, of which he was governor seventeen years ago. He
brings back a story that about ten days before he left, Brigadier Humayuni
gave certain assurances to some Bani Turuf Sheikhs living across the frontier,
relying on which, Muhammad Asi, the brother of Yunus, came back to Persia
and, as reported in Ahwaz News No. (15), was killed by the Sawari tribe.
The inspector paints a sorry picture of inefficiency and intrigue. His version
is as follows: At present the Persian Government has armed Moula
Nasrullah, bakhsdar of Hewaizeh, and relies on him and his followers to
neutralise the Bani Turuf. Meanwhile, the number of Persian Government
departments is absurdly large for such a small area: there is an O.C. Garrison,
a Frontier Commander, a Security Officer, a Gendarmerie Commander, and
a Head of Police, with civilians such as the Director of Posts, Civil Regis
tration, Customs, Economics, Finance, &c., all nominally under a Farmandar,
who assisted by a Mayor or head of the Municipality. All these officials
are at daggers drawn with one another. The Security Officer, Mustafa
Khuzistani, does not take bribes but is no politician and cannot keep order.
The inspector’s solution is (1) disarmament of all tribesmen, including the
Howaizeh Arabs, and the increase of the garrison from 30 to 100,
the area being run by a strong military governor : (2) exile of the accused
Bani Turuf Sheikhs and also of Moula Nasrullah, Ahmad Ziarat, and Sheikh
Ismail, and (3) equitable redistribution of the lands.”
Bakhtiari.
9. There is growing discontent among the rival branch of the tribe at
Murteza Quli Khan’s autocratic rule and at what they consider to be his virtual
monopoly of the fruits of office. That Bakhtiari is comparatively tranquil
matters but little to them who would prefer disorder and a “ free for all ”
situation. Recently Manuchihr Khan assembled a band of malcontents in
Junagan where he had collected arms and money, but in the end wiser counsels
prevailed and he obeyed the summons to return to Isfahan which had been given
by the General Officer Commanding, Isfahan Division.
Azerbaijan.
10. A consular source states that the first result of the Russians’ gift to
Qazi Muhammad of a printing press and two tons of paper has been a manifesto
of the “ Democratic party of Kurdistan.” This document, which is printed in
Persian and Kurdish in parallel columns, after a preamble glancing at the wrongs
suffered in ages past at the hands of Persian tyrants, makes the following
demands :—
{a) An autonomous Kurdistan within the frontiers of the Persian State-
(5) The use of the Kurdish language in schools and the administration of
Kurdistan;
(c) The immediate election of a provincial council for Kurdistan to supervise
all social and Government affairs;