2 MARCH 1929, Page 2

Civil war threatens in Afghanistan with the melting of the

snows, and no one will question the wisdom of the British Government'i decision to withdraw our official representatives. On Monday Sir Francis Humphrys and his staff arrived in Peshawar. They were the last of over five hundred persons—including several foreign diplomats and many British Indians—who had been brought from Kabul by aeroplane. In sending a tele- gram of cOngratulation to Sir Samuel Hoare, the King has expressed the admiration which we all feel for the work of the Royal Air Force. A new complication in the Afghan imbroglio is the return of Nadir Khan, a former Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Army and a relative of ex-King Amanullah. He is believed to have considerable prestige among his countrymen. He pro- fesses to have come simply as a peace-maker, first to stop the inter-tribal fighting in the Jalalabad district, and then to reconcile the various claimants to the throner The Amir of Kabul announces a jirga (tribal assembly), but his own attendance will no doubt depend on whether he can pay his soldiers.. Ex:King Amanullah claims increasing support, but for some reason contemplates a further withdrawal from Kandahar to Herat. . .