Shah Wali Khan, Afghan ambassador to the United Kingdom, says in an interview with The Hindu that the area of Pakhtunistan includes the states of Chitral, Dir, Swat, Bajaur, Tirah, Waziristan, and Baluchistan.

Shortly after its arrival the mission visits the Shibarghan area in the northwest, about 72 km from the Soviet border, where rich oil deposits have been discovered.

On August 21 Izvestiya publishes a report that this mission is a tool of the U.S. imperialists, who are planning the construction of military roads and airfields near the Soviet border.

Later Andrey Vyshinsky, the Soviet foreign minister, sends a strong note to Kabul protesting against the mission's presence in Afghanistan.

The Kabul government refutes this note in September, explaining that, as Afghanistan's economic life depends on motor transport, all oil prospecting is in the country's vital interests.