Page "Third Anglo-Afghan War" Paragraph 2

The end of the Second Afghan War in 1880 marked the beginning of almost 40 years of reasonably good relations between Britain and Afghanistan under the leadership of Abdur Rahman Khan and Habibullah Khan, during which time the British attempted to manage Afghan foreign policy through the payment of a large subsidy.

Ostensibly, the country remained independent, however, under the Treaty of Gandamak ( 1879 ) it was accepted that in regards to external matters it would "... have no windows looking on the outside world, except towards India ".