Balochistan, Pakistan

Map showing the sites and extent of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Mohenjo-Daro and Mehrgarh were among centers of the Indus Valley Civilisation in the modern-day province. Balochistan marked the westernmost territory of the civilisation, which was one of the most developed in the old Bronze Age in the world.

Balochistan occupies the very southeasternmost portion of the Iranian Plateau, the setting for the earliest known farming settlements in the pre-Indus Valley Civilisation era, the earliest of which was Mehrgarh, dated at 7000 BC, within the province. Balochistan marked the westernmost extent of the Civilisation. Centuries before the arrival of Islam in the 7th Century, parts of Balochistan was ruled by the Paratarajas, an Indo-Scythian dynasty. At certain times, the Kushans also held political sway in parts of Balochistan.

The Hindu Sewa Dynasty ruled parts of Balochistan, chiefly Kalat.[7][8] The Sibi Division, which was carved out of Quetta Division and Kalat Division in 1974, derives its name from Rani Sewi, the queen of the Sewa dynasty.[9]

A theory of the origin of the Baloch people, the largest ethnic group in the region, is that they are of Median descent.[10]

In 654, Abdulrehman ibn Samrah, governor of Sistan and the newly emerged Rashidun caliphate at the expense of Sassanid Persia and the Byzantine Empire, sent an Islamic army to crush a revolt in Zaranj, which is now in southern Afghanistan. After conquering Zaranj, a column of the army pushed north, conquering Kabul and Ghazni, in the Hindu Kush mountain range, while another column moved through Quetta District in north-western Balochistan and conquered the area up to the ancient cities of Dawar and Qandabil (Bolan).[11] It is documented that the major settlements, falling within today's province, became in 654 controlled by the Rashidun caliphate, except for the well-defended mountain town of QaiQan which is now Kalat.

During the caliphate of Ali, a revolt broke out in southern Balochistan's Makran region.[12] In 663, during the reign of Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah I, his Muslim rule lost control of north-eastern Balochistan and Kalat when Haris ibn Marah and a large part of his army died in battle against a revolt in Kalat.[13]

In the 15th century, Mir Chakar Khan Rind became the first Sirdar of Afghani, Irani and Pakistani Balochistan. He was a close aide of the Timurid ruler Humayun, and was succeeded by the Khanate of Kalat, which owed allegiance to the Mughal Empire. Later, Nader Shah won the allegiance of the rulers of eastern Balochistan. He ceded Kalhora, one of the Sindh territories of Sibi-Kachi, to the Khanate of Kalat.[14][15][16] Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Afghan Empire, also won the allegiance of that area's rulers, and many Baloch fought under him during the Third Battle of Panipat. Most of the area would eventually revert to local Baloch control after Afghan rule.

In the 1870s, Baluchistan came under control of the British Indian Empire in colonial India.[17] During this time from the fall of the Durrani Empire in 1823, four princely states were recognised and reinforced in Balochistan: Makran, Kharan, Las Bela and Kalat. In 1876, Robert Sandeman negotiated the Treaty of Kalat, which brought the Khan's territories, including Kharan, Makran, and Las Bela, under British protection even though they remained independent princely states.[18] After the Second Afghan War was ended by the Treaty of Gandamak in May 1879, the Afghan Emir ceded the districts of Quetta, Pishin, Harnai, Sibi and Thal Chotiali to British control. On 1 April 1883, the British took control of the Bolan Pass, south-east of Quetta, from the Khan of Kalat. In 1887, small additional areas of Balochistan were declared British territory.[19] In 1893, Sir Mortimer Durand negotiated an agreement with the Amir of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan, to fix the Durand Line running from Chitral to Balochistan as the boundary between the Emirate of Afghanistan and British-controlled areas. Two devastating earthquakes occurred in Balochistan during British colonial rule: the 1935 Quetta earthquake, which devastated Quetta, and the 1945 Balochistan earthquake with its epicentre in the Makran region.[20] During the time of the Indian independence movement, "three pro-Congress parties were still active in Balochistan's politics", such as the Anjuman-i-Watan Baluchistan, which favoured a united India and opposed its partition.[21][22]

Quetta Railway Station

Balochistan contained a Chief Commissioner's province and four princely states under the British Raj in colonial India. The province's Shahi Jirga and the non-official members of the Quetta Municipality opted for Pakistan unanimously on 29 June 1947.[23] Three of the princely states, Makran, Las Bela and Kharan, acceded to Pakistan in 1947 after independence.[24] But the ruler of the fourth princely state, the Khan of Kalat, Ahmad Yar Khan, who used to call Jinnah his 'father',[25] declared Kalat's independence as this was one of the options given to all of the 565 princely states by British Prime Minister Clement Attlee.[26]

Kalat finally acceded to Pakistan on 27 March 1948 after period of negotiations with Pakistan.[25] The signing of the Instrument of Accession by Ahmad Yar Khan, led his brother, Prince Abdul Karim, to revolt against his brother's decision due to their family rift.[27] in July 1948.[28] Princes Agha Abdul Karim Baloch and Muhammad Rahim, refused to lay down arms, leading the Dosht-e Jhalawan in unconventional attacks on the army until 1950.[27] The Prince indulged in Terror activities without any assistance from others.[29] Jinnah and his successors allowed Yar Khan to retain his title until the province's dissolution in 1955.

Insurgencies by Baloch nationalists took place in 1948, 1958–59, 1962–63 and 1973–77 – with a new ongoing insurgency by autonomy-seeking Baloch groups since 2003.[30][31] While a few Baloch support the demand for autonomy, the majority are not interested in seceding from Pakistan.[32]

At a press conference on 8 June 2015 in Quetta, Balochistan's Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti accused India's prime minister Narendra Modi of openly supporting terrorism. Bugti implicated India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of being responsible for recent attacks at military bases in Smangli and Khalid, and for subverting the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement.[33][34][35]

The climate of the upper highlands is characterised by very cold winters and hot summers. In the lower highlands, winters vary from extremely cold in northern districts Ziarat, Quetta, Kalat, Muslim Baagh and Khanozai to milder conditions closer to the Makran coast. Winters are mild on the plains, with temperature never falling below freezing point. Summers are hot and dry, especially in the arid zones of Chagai and Kharan districts. The plains are also very hot in summer, with temperatures reaching 50 °C (122 °F). The record highest temperature, 53 °C (127 °F), was recorded in Sibi on 26 May 2010,[37] exceeding the previous record, 52 °C (126 °F). Other hot areas include Turbat and Dalbandin. The desert climate is characterised by hot and very arid conditions. Occasionally, strong windstorms make these areas very inhospitable.

• Quetta Public High School , Quetta
• Islamia Model High School , Quetta
• Allied School, Quetta
• Smart School , Quetta
• Fauji Foundation School, Quetta
• Professor School , Pashin
• Eagle's Nest School , Pashin
• Workers School , Khuzdar

• Bolan University of Medical & Health Sciences
• Makran Medical College
• Loralai Medical College
• Jhalawan Medical College, Khuzdar
• Quetta Institute of Medical Sciences

• Balochistan Agriculture College
• Balochistan Institute of Technology
• Zarghoon Law College
• Islamia College
• FG Boys Degree College Quetta Cantt
• Fazaia Inter College

• Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology, Khuzdar
• Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta

• University of Balochistan, Quetta
• Al-Hamd Islamic University, Quetta
• Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University, Quetta
• Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences, Lasbela
• University of Turbat, Turbat
• University of Loralai, Loralai

Balochistan's share of Pakistan's national income has historically ranged between 3.7% to 4.9%.[53] Since 1972, Balochistan's gross income has grown in size by 2.7 times.[54] Outside Quetta, the resource extraction infrastructure of the province is gradually developing but still lags far behind other parts of Pakistan.

The agreements for royalty rights and ownership of mineral rights were reached during a period of unprecedented natural disasters, economic, social, political, and cultural unrest in Pakistan. The negotiations were widely considered to be insufficiently transparent.[55]

Following is a list of a few tourist attraction and places of interest in Balochistan:

1. Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, near Quetta, Balochistan.
2. The Sphinx of Balochistan.
3. The princess of hope, Balochistan
4. Pir ghaib waterfall, Balochistan
5. Astola Island
6. Bolan Pass
7. Makran Coastal Highway
8. Gwadar
9. Hanna Lake
10. Hingol National Park
11. Jiwani Coastal Wetland
12. Khuzdar
13. Kund Malir
14. Quetta
15. Mehrgarh
16. Moola Chotok
17. Urak Valley
18. Ziarat
19. Ziarat Juniper Forest
20. Hinglaj Mata Temples
21. Quaid-e-Azam Residency

Note: In this map, Lehri is shown within Sibi District on #27. Sohbatpur is shown within Jafarabad District on #8.

For administrative purposes, the province is divided into six divisions – Kalat, Makran, Nasirabad, Quetta, Sibi and Zhob. This divisional level was abolished in 2000, but restored after the 2008 election. Each division is under an appointed commissioner. The six divisions are further subdivided into 34 districts:[56]

In the 1998 census the Balochi was the main language of Balochistan spoken by 54.8%, Pashto was spoken by 29.6%, Sindhi by 5.6%, Punjabi by 2.5%, Saraiki by 2.4%, Urdu by 1% and Others 4.1%.[65]

According to the Ethnologue, households speaking Balochi, whose primary dialect is Makrani constitutes 13%, Rukhshani 10%, Sulemani 7%, and Khetrani 3% of the population. Other languages spoken are Lasi, Urdu, Punjabi, Hazargi, Sindhi, Saraiki, Dehvari, Dari, Tajik, Hindko, Uzbek, and Hindki.[65] In the Lasbela District, the majority of the population speaks Lasi,[66] which is a dialect of Sindhi.[67]

Balochi forms majority in 21 districts and Pashtun forms majority in 9 districts of Balochistan.[68]

The 2005 census concerning Afghans in Pakistan showed that a total of 769,268[69] Afghan refugees were temporarily staying in Balochistan. However, there are probably fewer Afghans living in Balochistan today as many refugees repatriated in 2013. As of 2015, there are only 327,778 registered Afghan refugees according to the UNHCR.[70]

According to the 1998 Census, Balochistan had a total population of 6,565,885 of which most (6,484,006) were Muslims. There were also Hindu and Christian minorities in the province. The Hindu population in the province was approximately 39,000 (including the Scheduled Castes).[71] The Shri Hinglaj Mata mandir which is the largest Hindu pilgrimage centre in Pakistan is situated in Balochistan.[72] There was also a Christian minority of 26,462 individuals in the province.[71]