Balochistan is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. It is the largest province in terms of land area, forming the southwestern region of the country, but is the least populated. Its provincial capital and largest city is Quetta.
The Geography of Pakistan is a profound blend of landscapes varying from plains to deserts, forests, and plateaus ranging from the coastal areas of the Arabian Sea in the south to the mountains of the Karakoram, Hindukush, Himalayas ranges in the north. Pakistan geologically overlaps both with the Indian and the Eurasian tectonic plates where its Sindh and Punjab provinces lie on the north-western corner of the Indian plate while Balochistan and most of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lie within the Eurasian plate which mainly comprises the Iranian Plateau.
Quetta is the provincial capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is also the 10th largest city in Pakistan. It was largely destroyed in the 1935 Quetta earthquake, but was rebuilt and has a population of 1,001,205 according to the census of 2017. Quetta is at an average elevation of 1,680 metres above sea level, making it Pakistan's only high-altitude major city. The city is known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan," due to the numerous fruit orchards in and around it, and the large variety of fruits and dried fruit products produced there.
Gwadar is a port city with the title capital of South Balochistan, located on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, Pakistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea opposite Oman. Gwadar is the 100th largest city of Pakistan, according to a 2017 census. It was an overseas possession of Oman from 1783 to 1958. It is about 120 km (75 mi) southwest of Turbat, while the sister port city of Chabahar in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Province is about 170 km (110 mi) to the west of Gwadar.
Bolān Pass is a valley and a natural gateway, through the Toba Kakar range in Balochistan province of Pakistan, 120 km (75 mi) south of the Afghanistan border. The pass is an 89 km (55 mi) stretch of the Bolan river valley from Rindli in the south to Darwāza near Kolpur in the north. It is made up of a number of narrow gorges and stretches. It connects Quetta with Sibi by road and railway.
The history of Balochistan began in 650 BCE with vague allusions to the region in Greek historical records. Balochistan is divided between the Pakistani province of Balochistan, the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan and the Afghan region of Balochistan. Prehistoric Balochistan dates to the Paleolithic.
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.
Gwadar District is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The name Gwadar originates from Gwat and Dar ، which means the door of air. Gwadar was notified as a separate district on 1 July 1977. The City of Gwadar is the district headquarter of Gwadar District.
Sibi is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The main mountain ranges are Zen, Bambore and Dungan. The climatic and topography of Sibi District is quite varied 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.
Turbat is a city in southern Balochistan, Pakistan, and the administrative centre of Kech District. Situated on the Kech River Turbat was the historical capital of the State of Makran. Turbat is the second-largest city in Balochistan after Quetta and 38th largest city of Pakistan. It is the largest city in the southern part of the province. The Gwadar Port is about 180 kilometres (110 mi) to the southwest of Turbat.
The Marri are a Balochi-speaking tribe of the Baloch people, who inhabit a large arid region in northeastern Balochistan, Pakistan. The Marri area is bounded to the west by the plains of Sibi. To the north are the Kakar and Loni tribes of the Pashtuns; to the east lie the lands of the Khetrans, speakers of an Indo-Aryan language, Khetrani; to the south the Bugti tribe.
The Chief Commissioner's Province of Baluchistan was a territory of British Empire which later was merged and made a province of British India, and later became a part of Pakistan in 1947. It was part of the Baluchistan Agency.
The Khanate of Kalat was a Baloch Khanate that existed from 1512 to 1955 in the centre of the modern-day province of Balochistan, Pakistan. Its rulers were Brahui speakers. Prior to that they were subjects of Mughal King Akbar. Ahmedzai Khan ruled the state independently until 1839, when it became a self-governing state in a subsidiary alliance with British India. After the signature of the Treaty of Mastung by the Khan of Kalat and the Baloch Sardars in 1876, Kalat became part of the Baluchistan Agency. It was briefly independent from 12 August 1947 until 27 March 1948. The Khanate, a political centralization of the Baloch people, failed to survive through the colonial era and did not lead to standardization of the Baloch language.
Quetta is a natural fort, surrounded as it is by imposing hills on all sides. It is encircled by hills Chiltan, Takatoo, Mordar and Zarghun. It is believed that the earliest Muslim inhabitants and rulers/owners of the city were the Pashtun Kasi Tribe. Quetta was first mentioned in the 11th century when it was captured by Mahmood of Ghazni on one of his invasions of the subcontinent. In 1543 the Mughal emperor Humayun rested here on his retreat to Persia, leaving his one-year-old son Akbar until he returned two years later. The Ghilzai power in Kandahar at the beginning of the eighteenth century, simultaneously with that of the Baloch in Kalat, Quetta and Pishin became the battle-ground between the Afghans and Baloch in the region. Ahmed Shah Durrani finally handed Quetta over to the Khan of Kalat Mir Noori Naseer Khan Baloch for helping him with his army in 1751 against the Marathas in the Battle of Panipat (1761), and against the Sikhs in 1765. Today, it is an important city in Pakistan. Quetta has a majority Pasthun population, with more than 70% of its inhabitants being Pashtun.
The Balochistan Liberation Army, also known as the Baloch Liberation Army, is a militant organization based in Afghanistan. The BLA became publicly known during the summer of 2000, after it claimed credit for a series of bombing attacks on Pakistani authorities. The BLA is listed as a terrorist organization by Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Gul Khan Naseer, also widely regarded as Malek o-Sho'arā Balochistan was a politician, poet, historian, and journalist from Balochistan, Pakistan. Born on 14 May 1914 in Noshki, Gul Khan Naseer was at the forefront of the Baloch nationalist movement and was most active between 1935 and 1980. His father's name was Habib Khan and he belonged to the Paindzai family of the Zagar Mengal sub branch of the Mengal tribe. Gul Khan's mother "Bibi Hooran" belonged to the Rakhshani branch of the Bolazai Badini.
Abdul Malik Baloch was the 21st Chief Minister of Balochistan, Pakistan from 7 June 2013 to 23 December 2015. He was born in Turbat District, Makran and he is a member of the Hooth tribe.
Balochistan Levies is a paramilitary gendarmerie in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It operates as one of two primary law enforcement agencies tasked with maintaining law and order in the province. The levies force has jurisdiction in most districts of Balochistan.
