After World War I Amanullah became the new ruler of Afghanistan. He took into account all the weak points of the British. World War I had ravaged Britain and consequently her hold over India was becoming weaker and weaker. Emboldened by it he had communicated to the viceroy his rejection of British control over the foreign policy of Afghanistan because the latter was now totally independent.

Despite this belligerent correspondence the British were taken by surprise when Afghanistan suddenly attacked on two fronts.

In the beginning, the Afghans met with some success mainly because the Pashtuns from both sides of the border had joined the force. But soon the British regained their position and a state of status quo ensued. Both sides now wanted peace. The Afghans became weary of British air attacks on Kabul and Jalalabad, while the British despaired of retaining any success on the land – especially since it was still nursing the wounds inflicted by World War I.

The war lasted for a month leaving behind a trail of 1,000 Afghans dead as against the British toll of 2,000. The irony was that what the Afghans could not gain on the battlefield they managed to win at the peace talks which ended in the Rawalpindi Agreement of 1919. The terms of the treaty were virtually dictated by Britain. It was an armistice of sorts in which the Afghans were given some sort of freedom in their foreign affairs.

But before the signing of the formal document with Britain, Afghanistan took a very astute step. It signed a Treaty of Friendship with the newly installed Soviet Government in Moscow. Thus Afghanistan became the one of the first nations to recognize the Communist regime. This led to the development of a special relationship between the two countries, which Britain naturally came to view with suspicion.

In 1921 took place another round of Anglo-Afghan talks, which proved to be indecisive. The Afghans came to regard it as an informal one. As before there was no dispute over the matter of foreign affairs but the matter of the Pashtun tribes on either side of the Durand line proved to be a bone of contention. Britain refused to allow Afghanistan to have any say in the matters of the tribes who lived in British territory. But Kabul was insistent on this matter.