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.
A princely state was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a subsidiary alliance and the suzerainty or paramountcy of the British crown.
Quetta is a district in the north-west of the Balochistan province of Pakistan, on the border with Kandahar province, Afghanistan. It is part of Quetta Division. The district is famous for its agriculture produce, most notably fruit orchards but also including apples and grapes. The Hanna Valley is an area where almonds are grown. The population counted in the 1998 census was 760,000, while in 2010 it was estimated at 1,235,000.
Mir is a Persian and Kurdish title with variable connotations.
Sir Robert Groves Sandeman, KCSI (1835–1892) was a British Indian Army officer and colonial administrator. He was known for his activities in Balochistan, where he introduced a system of "tribal pacification" that endured until the partition of India in 1947.
The history of Balochistan refers to the history of the Balochistan region of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Vague allusions to the region were found in Greek historical records of around 650 BCE. Prehistoric Balochistan dates to the Paleolithic.
Sibi is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The main mountain ranges are Zen, Bambore and Dungan. The climate and topography of Sibi District is quite varied as compared to other districts of Balochistan. It is also known as the "Hot spot" of Pakistan where the temperatures in the summer exceed 52.6 °C (126.7 °F). Until 2013 the district had two sub-divisions, Sibi and Lehri, further organized into Tehsils and sub-tehsils: Sibi, Lehri, Kutmandi and Sangan. Lehri was rejoined with Sibi district in 2018.
Sibi is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name.
Zhob, formerly known as Appozai, is a city and district headquarters of the Zhob District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of the Zhob river. It is 337 kilometres away from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
The former administrative units of Pakistan are states, provinces and territories which mainly existed between 1947 and 1975 when the current provinces and territories were established. The former units have no administrative function today but some remain as historical and cultural legacies. In some cases, the current provinces and territories correspond to the former units – for example the province of Punjab includes almost all the territory of the former province of West Punjab.
The Chief Commissioner's Province of British Baluchistan was a province of British India established in 1876. Upon the creation of Pakistan it acceded to the newly formed state. It was part of the Baluchistan Agency. It was dissolved to form a united province of West Pakistan in 1955 upon the creation of One Unit Scheme.
The Khanate of Kalat was a Brahui Khanate that originated from the Kalat region of Pakistan. Formed in 1666 due to the threat of Mughal expansion in the region, it controlled the wider Balochistan at its greatest extent in the mid-18th century, extending from Kerman in the west to Sindh in the east and from Helmand river in the north to the Arabian sea in the south. Khanate of Kalat lost considerable area to Qajar Iran and Emirate of Afghanistan in the early 19th century, and the city of Kalat was itself sacked by the British in 1839. Kalat became a self-governing state in a subsidiary alliance with British India after the signature of the Treaty of Kalat by the Khan of Kalat and the Baloch Sardars in 1875, and the supervision of Kalat became task of the Baluchistan Agency. Kalat was briefly independent from 12 August 1947 until 27 March 1948, when its ruler Ahmad Yar Khan acceded to Pakistan, making it one of the Princely states of Pakistan.
The four provinces, capital territory and two autonomous territories of Pakistan are subdivided into 39 administrative "divisions", which are further subdivided into districts, tehsils and finally union councils. These divisions were abolished in 2000, but restored in 2008.
Sarawan was a division of the former princely state of Kalat in Baluchistan, Pakistan, with an area 4,339 square miles (11,240 km2). To the north were Quetta, Pishin, Bolan Pass and Sibi District. On the south was the division of Jhalawan. The main mountain ranges are Nagau, Bhaur, Zamuri hills, Bangulzai hills with the peaks of Moro, Dilband and Harboi.
Kirani is an historical village lying five miles (8 km) west of Quetta city, capital of Baluchistan province of Pakistan on the outskirts of the Chiltan range and is set to derive its name from a defile lying near the village known as Giran Nai, or Kran Tangi. The village comprises the "mahals" under the Naurang, Malak, Kirani and Mast karezes and also karakhsa, and is said to have been established some seven generations back by Khwaja Wali, a Moudodi/Chishti syed, whose grave with that of his son, Mir Shahdad lies enclosed in a mud wall in the middle of the old graveyard. To the west of the village lies the Kirani Karez, which is said to date from the time of the Zoroastrians and behind the site of the existing village lies the ruins now of an old village where earthen pots of various kinds and iron arrowheads have been unearthed. Close to this is a solitary mulberry tree, called "Yaka tut", which the people believe has stood there from time immemorial.
Gul Khan Naseer, also known as Malek o-Sho'arā Balochistan was a Pakistani politician, poet, historian, and journalist from Balochistan. Most of his work is in Balochi language, but he also wrote in English, Urdu, Brahui and Persian.
The princely states of Pakistan were princely states of the British Indian Empire which acceded to the new Dominion of Pakistan between 1947 and 1948, following the partition of British India and its independence.
Khan Mir Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmedzai (1902–1979), commonly referred to as Yar Khan, was the last Khan of Kalat, a princely state in a subsidiary alliance with British India and the Dominion of Pakistan, serving from 10 September 1933 to 14 October 1955.
Hinduism is a minority religion in Balochistan followed by 0.4% of the population of the province. It is the largest minority religion in Balochistan. The Balochistan is home to the shrine of Shri Hinglaj Mata temple, which is one of the most sacred Hindu temples. The annual Hinglaj Yatra to the temple is the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan.
