Balochistan is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the north-east, Punjab to the east and Sindh to the south-east; shares international borders with Iran to the west and Afghanistan to the north; and is bound by the Arabian Sea to the south. Balochistan is an extensive plateau of rough terrain divided into basins by ranges of sufficient heights and ruggedness. It has the world's largest deep sea port, the Port of Gwadar lying in the Arabian Sea.
Gwadar is a port city on the southwestern coast of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman and has a population of over 90,000, according to the 2017 census. It was an overseas possession of Oman from 1783 to 1958. It is about 120 km (75 mi) southwest of Turbat. The sister port city of Chabahar in Iran's Sistan ve Baluchestan province is about 170 km (110 mi) to the west of Gwadar. On 2 April 2021, it was declared the winter capital of Balochistan.
Hub Dam is a reservoir on the Hub River. It is situated 56 km from Karachi city in Karachi and Hub District on Sindh and Balochistan provinces border. The dam is extended to 24300 acres with gross storage capacity of 857000 acre feet. It is Pakistan's fifth-largest dam. It is an important source that provides the drinking water to the metropolitan city Karachi.
Pasni, is a city and a fishing port in Gwadar District, Balochistan, Pakistan. It is located on the Makran coast on Arabian Sea about 450 km (280 mi) from Karachi. Administratively, Pasni is the headquarters of Pasni Tehsil, the sub-division of Gwadar District. Astola Island lies 40 km (25 mi) ESE of Pasni, in the Arabian Sea. The city of Pasni is itself administratively subdivided into two Union Councils.
Turbat is a city in southern Balochistan, Pakistan. It is the administrative centre of Kech District. Situated on the bank of the Kech River, Turbat was the historical capital of the State of Makran. Turbat is the second-largest city in Balochistan after Quetta and the 38th largest city of Pakistan. It is the largest city in the southern part of the province. The Gwadar Port lies 180 kilometres (110 mi) southwest of Turbat.
The Dasht River is located in the Makran region and Gwadar District, in the southwestern section of Balochistan Province, Pakistan which drains near Jiwani.
Mirani Dam is on the Dasht River, south of the Central Makran Range in Kech District in Balochistan province of Pakistan. Its 302,000 acre-feet (373,000,000 m3) reservoir is fed by the Kech River and the Nihing River, which join at Mirani Dam to form the Dasht River. Mirani Dam was completed in July 2006 and began impounding the Dasht River in August 2006.
The Balochistan Liberation Army, is a Baloch ethnonationalist terrorist and militant organization based in Afghanistan. BLA perpetrates its terror activities from its safe havens scattered across Southern Afghanistan into the Pakistan's largest province of Balochistan, where it frequently carries out attacks against the Pakistan Armed Forces, civilians and foreign nationals.
Shahdadkot is the most populated and largest Tehsil of Qambar Shahdadkot District of Sindh, Pakistan. It was named after the town founder Shahdad Khan Khuhawar. It is located around 51 kilometres northwest of Larkana and 34 kilometers north of Qambar. The town is in close proximity to three districts of Balochistan namely Khuzdar, Jhal Magsi and Jaffarabad in the west and north of the district. It is linked on the M8 motorway route between Gwadar and Ratodero.
The Kech River flows in the Makran region of southeastern Iran and the southwestern area of Balochistan Province in southwestern Pakistan.
Electricity in Pakistan is generated, transmitted and distributed by two vertically integrated public sector companies, first one being Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) responsible for the production of hydroelectricity and its supply to the consumers by electricity distribution companies (DISCOS) under the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) being the other integrated company. Currently, there are 12 distribution companies and a National Transmission And Dispatch Company (NTDC) which are all in the public sector except Karachi Electric in the city of Karachi and its surrounding areas. There are around 42 independent power producers (IPPs) that contribute significantly in electricity generation in Pakistan.
Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Phet was a powerful tropical cyclone that made landfall on Oman, Western India, and Pakistan. The third named cyclone of the 2010 cyclone season, Phet developed in the Arabian Sea on May 31 to the west of India. With conducive environmental conditions, the storm intensified to reach peak sustained winds of 155 km/h (95 mph) on June 2, based on analysis by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). On the next day, Phet dropped heavy rainfall while moving across eastern Oman, with a peak of 603 mm (23.7 in) in Qurayyat. The rains flooded arid areas and collected into wadis – normally dry river beds. Thousands of homes were wrecked across Oman. There were 24 fatalities in the country, and damage was estimated at US$780 million.
The climate of Gwadar is located at 0 metres (0 ft)–300 metres (984 ft) meters above sea level and features a dry and hot arid climate. The oceanic influence keeps the temperature lower than that in the summer and higher in winter. The mean temperature in the hottest month of June remains between 31 °C (88 °F) and 32 °C (90 °F). The mean temperature in the coldest month of January varies from 18 °C (64 °F) to 19 °C (66 °F). The uniformity of temperature is a unique characteristic of the coastal region in Balochistan. Occasionally, winds moving down the Balochistan plateau bring cold spells, otherwise the winter is pleasant. In Gwadar, winter is shorter than summer. Gwadar's weather is identical to that of the Middle East as most rain occurs from December till January. The highest rainfall of 227 millimetres (8.9 in) in 24 hours was recorded on 6 June 2010.
The economy of Balochistan, one of the four provinces of Pakistan, is largely based upon the production of natural gas, coal, and minerals. Agriculture and livestock also dominate the Baloch economy. Horticultural development is a fairly recent, yet growing phenomenon. Other important economic sectors include fisheries, mining, manufacturing industries, trade and other services being rendered by public and private sector organizations in the province.
Tourism in Balochistan is a developing industry, and is overseen by the Tourism Directorate under the Government of Balochistan. Balochistan is known for its long coastal belt which extends from Karachi through Sonmiani, Ormara, Kalmat, Pasni, Gwadar, Jiwani and all the way up to Iran. It is also popular for its hill tops and rugged mountainous terrain.
Hingol Dam is a proposed small, low-head, Central Core Zone, hydroelectric power generation dam of 3.5 megawatt (MW) generation capacity, located in the Lasbela District across the Hingol River in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is located at a distance of 260 km (162 mi) northwest of Karachi and about 16 km (10 mi) north of bridge across the Hingol River on the Makran Coastal Highway and about 8 km (5 mi) north of Kund Malir where the river falls into the sea.
Mangi Dam is located near Ziarat in Balochistan, Pakistan. The dam was constructed in 1982 and has a height of 18 m (59 ft) and storage capacity of 130,000 m3 (105 acre⋅ft). It was constructed at a cost of US$36.88 million. It was made to stop the fish from leaving the fishing area. In 2015 it is announced that the dam will also produce electricity and the shortage of load shedding will also reduce.
Zalzala Koh or Zalzala Jazeera was a small island off the coast of the port city of Gwadar in Balochistan province of Pakistan which appeared on 24 September 2013 following an earthquake. As predicted by many geologists, the island soon started to submerge, with satellite images indicating the island had sunk 3 m (10 ft) into the sea one month after its initial appearance. By the end of 2016, the island had disappeared.
China–Pakistan Economic Corridor is a 3,000 km Chinese infrastructure network project currently under construction in Pakistan. This sea-and-land-based corridor aims to secure and shorten the route for China’s energy imports from the Middle East, avoiding the existing path through the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, which could be blockaded in case of war, thereby threatening China’s energy-dependent economy. Developing a deep-water port at Gwadar in the Arabian Sea and establishing a robust road and rail network from this port to the Xinjiang region in western China would serve as a shortcut, enhancing trade between Europe and China. In Pakistan, the project aims to address electricity shortages, develop infrastructure, and modernize transportation networks, while also transitioning the economy from an agriculture-based structure to an industrial one.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs, previously known as the Ministry of Ports and Shipping, is a Federal Ministry of the Government of Pakistan. The current Minister for Maritime Affairs is Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh and the current Federal Secretary for Maritime Affairs is Zafar Ali Shah. The longest-serving Federal Secretary for Ports and Shipping are Muhammad Saleem Khan and Rizwan Ahmed. The Ministry is headquartered in Islamabad and its main attached departments are in the port city of Karachi.
