"ملف رقم ٠٢٠٥ شؤون الشارقة (متضمنة بني قتب)" [و‎‎٤‎٠] (١٠٤/٧٩)

No.140
British Agency, Sharjah
Dated 9th February,1948
To,
Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr,
Ruler of Sharjah.
After Compliments,
I have observed, with much regret, that
security and order in your territory is getting worse
day by day. Cases of robbery and assault by the bedouin
against caravan and motor transport are allowed to pass
without any action. This will naturally encourage the
bedouin to indulge in more and more activities of this
nature, thus rendering your territory unsafe for travelling.
Within a short period the following incidents have taken
place in your territory in respect of which you have taken
no action at all:-
(a) The assault by the Awamir on the Batini
caravan which took place on the 14th January
at the plain near to the entrance of Wadi
el Q,aur.
(b) The robbery of the car of Ubaid Ballaham
which took place on the 20th January in the
vicintgy of A1 IVbrra water well, by the Beni
Q,itab.
(c) The attack on the car of Ahmad bin Abdur
Razzaq Bahrani on the 31st January, the
looting of passenger’s luggage and the
stripping and smashing of the car, by the
Beni Qitab.
2. The neighbouring Shaikhs are highly dissatisfied
at your attitude which tends to encourage the bedouin in
their depredations; and some of them have complained to me.
They state that most of the Beni Qitab guards employed by
you are robbers and abductors and that by keeping them in
your service you connive at their actions. Two of the
most notorious are Rashid and Hamad as Saman who are
responsible for several cases of abduction. I think that
the least you can do is to dismiss both of these persons