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82-402: Balochistan ( / b ə ˈ l ɒ tʃ ɪ s t ɑː n , b ə ˌ l ɒ tʃ ɪ ˈ s t ɑː n , - s t æ n / ; Balochi : بلۏچستان ; Urdu : بلوچستان , Urdu pronunciation: [bəloːt͡ʃɪst̪ɑːn] ) 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
164-549: A Border Roads Organisation driver and four ITBP soldiers, and 129 Afghans were killed in these attacks. The province has been one of the 7 ( Nimruz , Helmand , Kandahar , Uruzgan , Ghazni , Paktika and Zabul ) where the Taliban have been recently regrouping. On 14 August 2012 dozens of civilians were killed in Zaranj by several suicide-bombers in a major terrorist attack on the city. Due to Zaranj's close proximity to Iran,
246-488: A base for further caliphal expansion in the region. In 661, a small Arab garrison reestablished its authority in the region after having temporarily lost control due to skirmishes and revolts. A Nestorian Christian community is recorded in Zaranj in the sixth century, and by the end of the eighth century there was a Jacobite diocese of Zaranj. In the 9th century Zaranj was the capital of the Saffarid dynasty , whose founder
328-571: A large minority of the population speaks Lasi and Siraiki , which are dialects of Sindhi . 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. The 2005 census concerning Afghans in Pakistan showed that
410-433: A majority of population lacks amenities". Although the province is rich in natural resources capable of uplifting its economy, most of them have not been fully utilised for the welfare of the population and are yet to be explored or developed. Since the mid-1970s the province's contribution to Pakistan's GDP has dropped from 4.9 to 3.7%, and as of 2007 it had the highest poverty rate and infant and maternal mortality rate, and
492-517: A marble factory are also located there. One of the world's largest ship breaking yards is located on the coast. Balochistan's share of Pakistan's national income has historically ranged between 3.7% to 4.9%. Since 1972, Balochistan's gross income has grown in size by 2.7 times. 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
574-798: A part of Pakistan. The province's Shahi Jirga (the grand council of tribal elders) and the non-official members of the Quetta Municipality , according to the Pakistani narrative, agreed to join Pakistan unanimously on 29 June 1947; however, the Shahi Jirga was stripped of its members from the Kalat State prior to the vote. The then-president of the Baluchistan Muslim League, Qazi Muhammad Isa , informed Muhammad Ali Jinnah that "Shahi Jirga in no way represents
656-477: A period of unprecedented natural disasters, economic, social, political, and cultural unrest in Pakistan. The negotiations were widely considered to be insufficiently transparent. Following is a list of a few tourist attractions and places of interest in Balochistan: Balochi language Balochi ( بلۏچی , romanized: Balòci ) is a Northwestern Iranian language , spoken primarily in
738-547: A professional setting and by educated folk. The following Latin-based alphabet was adopted by the International Workshop on "Balochi Roman Orthography" (University of Uppsala, Sweden, 28–30 May 2000). a á b c d ď e f g ĝ h i í j k l m n o p q r ř s š t ť u ú v w x y z ž ay aw (33 letters and 2 digraphs) In 1933, the Soviet Union adopted a Latin-based alphabet for Balochi as follows: The alphabet
820-465: A symbol of India's developmental work in the war-ravaged country, was handed over to Afghan authorities by Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in January 2009 in the presence of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta . "Completion of the road reflects the determination of both India and Afghanistan that nothing can prevent or hinder collaboration between
902-523: A total of 769,268 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. According to the 2017 Census, nearly all of the population of Balochistan were Muslims . There were also Hindu and Christian minorities in
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#1732775548234984-532: Is subject–object–verb . Like many other Indo-Iranian languages, Balochi also features split ergativity . The subject is marked as nominative except for the past tense constructions where the subject of a transitive verb is marked as oblique and the verb agrees with the object . Balochi, like many Western Iranian languages, has lost the Old Iranian gender distinctions. Much of the Balochi number system
1066-614: Is a rare event. On 27 Nov 2016, it snowed in this city. According to the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) along with UNHCR and Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Afghanistan, the population of Zaranj was around 49,851 in 2004. The ethnic groups are as follows: Baloch 44%, Pashtun 34% and Tajik 22%. The city of Zaranj has a population of 160,902 people. There are 17,878 residential dwellings in Zarat and 1,759 hectares of agricultural land. Commercial land use
1148-645: Is also being improved by the United States. US Marines assigned to 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing have been visiting Zaranj since US Marine Base Forward Operating Base Delaram was built in Delaram district of Zaranj. The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing built two concrete helicopter landing zones on western side of the gravel runway of Zaranj Airport to ease the landing of USMC V-22 Osprey helicopters from 3rd Battalion 4th Marines . The helipads now serve all helicopters landing at Zaranj airport. On 6 August 2021, it
1230-692: Is bordered by Afghanistan to the north and north-west, Iran to the south-west, Punjab and Sindh , and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to the north-east. To the south lies the Arabian Sea . Balochistan is located on the south-eastern part of the Iranian plateau. It borders the geopolitical regions of the Middle East and Southwest Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. Balochistan lies at
1312-431: 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,
1394-855: Is carried out by the Balochistan High Court , which is based in Quetta and headed by a Chief Justice. Besides dominant Pakistan-wide political parties (such as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf , Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party ), Balochistan nationalist parties (such as the National Party and the Balochistan National Party (Mengal) ) have been prominent in the province. For administrative purposes,
1476-990: Is clustered on the main road to Iran. The Delaram–Zaranj Highway , also known as Route 606 , is a 217-km or 135-mile-long two-lane road built by India in Afghanistan , connecting Delaram in Farah Province with Zaranj in neighbouring Nimruz Province near the Iranian border. It connects the Afghan–Iranian border with the Kandahar–Herat Highway in Delaram, which provides connectivity to other major Afghan cities via A01 , including to India's planned mining operation in Hajigak mining concession . Route 606 reduces travel time between Delaram and Zaranj from
1558-601: Is identical to Persian . According to Mansel Longworth Dames , Balochi writes the first twelve numbers as follows: Balochi was not a written language before the 19th century, and the Persian script was used to write Balochi wherever necessary. However, Balochi was still spoken at the Baloch courts. British colonial officers first wrote Balochi with the Latin script. Following the creation of Pakistan, Baloch scholars adopted
1640-559: Is involved, in one way or another, in the smuggling business". As described in the paper, "Zaranj is lively. Newcomers buy kebabs from street vendors, peruse shops and sit around plastic tables, eager to learn more about the grueling journey ahead". Zaranj has a hot desert climate ( Köppen climate classification BWh ) with very hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is very low, and mostly falls in winter. Temperatures in summer may approach 50 °C (122 °F). Snowfall in Zaranj
1722-419: Is largely based upon agriculture, livestock, fisheries, production of natural gas, coal and other minerals. Though agriculture and livestock play a dominant role in the provincial economy by contributing 47% of its GDP, it faced intense damages due to the 2022 Pakistan floods . The floods killed around 500,000 of Balochistan's livestock and damaged cultivation and agricultural output in 32 out of 35 districts of
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#17327755482341804-572: Is located to the west of Zaranj, on the Afghanistan–Iran border . It is one of three important trade-routes that connect Central Asia , East Asia and South Asia with the Middle East . Zaranj Airport is located some 13 miles (21 km) to the east of the city. The history of Zaranj dates back over 2500 years and Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar , founder of the Saffarid dynasty , was born in this old civilization. Modern Zaranj bears
1886-602: Is not in Balochi, but in Urdu in Pakistan and Persian in Afghanistan and Iran. Even now very few Baloch read Balochi, in any of the countries, even though the alphabet in which it is printed is essentially identical to Persian and Urdu. Balochi belongs to the Western Iranian subgroup, and its original homeland is suggested to be around the central Caspian region. Balochi is an Indo-European language , spoken by
1968-424: Is noted that the stop and glide consonants may also occur as aspirated allophones in word initial position as [pʰ tʰ ʈʰ t͡ʃʰ kʰ] and [wʱ] . Allophones of stops in postvocalic position include for voiceless stops, [f θ x] and for voiced stops [β ð ɣ] . /n l/ are also dentalized as [n̪ l̪] . Difference between a question and a statement is marked with the tone, when there is no question word. Rising tone marks
2050-491: 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 ). It is documented that the major settlements, falling within today's province, became in 654 controlled by
2132-460: Is still used very frequently. آ، ا، ب، پ، ت، ٹ، ج، چ، د، ڈ، ر، ز، ژ، س، ش، ک، گ، ل، م، ن، و، ھ ہ، ء، ی ے The Balochi Standard Alphabet , standardized by Balochi Academy Sarbaz, consists of 29 letters. It is an extension of the Perso-Arabic script and borrows a few glyphs from Urdu . It is also sometimes referred to as Balo-Rabi or Balòrabi. Today, it is the preferred script to use in
2214-509: Is still written in a modified Arabic script based on Persian . In 2002, a conference was held to help standardize the script that would be used for Balochi. The following alphabet was used by Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi in his lexicon of Balochi Sayad Ganj ( سید گنج ) (lit. Sayad's Treasure ). Until the creation of the Balochi Standard Alphabet , it was by far the most widely used alphabet for writing Balochi, and
2296-568: Is used to denote nasalization of the preceding vowel . In addition, /f/ occurs in a few words in Southern Balochi. /x/ (voiceless velar fricative) in some loanwords in Southern Balochi corresponding to /χ/ (voiceless uvular fricative) in Western Balochi; and /ɣ/ (voiced velar fricative) in some loanwords in Southern Balochi corresponding to /ʁ/ (voiced uvular fricative) in Western Balochi. In Eastern Balochi, it
2378-634: 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. During
2460-592: The Baloch and belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the family. As an Iranian language , it is classified in the Northwestern group . Glottolog classifies four different varieties, namely Koroshi , Southern Balochi and Western Balochi (grouped under a "Southern-Western Balochi" branch), and Eastern Balochi, all under the "Balochic" group. ISO 639-3 groups Southern, Eastern, and Western Baloch under
2542-541: The Baloch people themselves did not enter the region until the 14th century CE. A theory of the origin of the Baloch people , the largest ethnic group in the region, is that they are of Median descent. 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
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2624-642: The Balochistan region of Pakistan , Iran and Afghanistan . In addition, there are speakers in Oman , the Arab states of the Persian Gulf , Turkmenistan , East Africa and in diaspora communities in other parts of the world. The total number of speakers, according to Ethnologue , is 8.8 million. Of these, 6.28 million are in Pakistan. According to Brian Spooner , Literacy for most Baloch-speakers
2706-538: The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement. Gwadar, a region of Balochistan, was a colony of Oman for more than a century, and in the 1960s Pakistan took over the land. Many people in this region are therefore Omani. Balochistan is situated in the southwest of Pakistan and covers an area of 347,190 square kilometres (134,050 sq mi). It is Pakistan's largest province by area, constituting 44% of Pakistan's total landmass. The province
2788-567: The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been visiting Zaranj city. The US Marines and other U.S. officials are involved with the Afghan government in major development projects. This includes improvement made to the irrigation network of the city, building of Afghan military and Afghan National Police barracks as well as a hospital and a school. The city is served by Zaranj Airport , which
2870-595: The Khanate of Kalat . 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 1876, northern Baluchistan became one of the presidencies and provinces of British India in colonial India . During this time from
2952-476: The Makran Division , is being built to provide water to expand agricultural land use by 35,000 km (14,000 sq mi) where it would otherwise be unsustainable. In the district Lasbela, there is an oil refinery owned by Byco International Incorporated (BII), which is capable of processing 120,000 barrels of oil per day. A power station is located adjacent to the refinery. Several cement plants and
3034-726: The Persian alphabet . The first collection of poetry in Balochi, Gulbang by Mir Gul Khan Nasir was published in 1951 and incorporated the Arabic Script . It was much later that Sayad Zahoor Shah Hashemi wrote a comprehensive guidance on the usage of Arabic script and standardized it as the Balochi Orthography in Pakistan and Iran. This earned him the title of the 'Father of Balochi'. His guidelines are widely used in Eastern and Western Balochistan. In Afghanistan, Balochi
3116-562: The insurgency in Balochistan , says "that Balochistan's accession to Pakistan was, as against the officially projected narrative, not based upon consensus, nor was support for Pakistan overwhelming. What this manipulation indicates is that even before formally becoming a part of Pakistan, Balochistan had fallen a prey to political victimization." Initially aspiring for independence, the Khan of Kalat finally acceded to Pakistan on 27 March 1948 after period of negotiations with Pakistan. The signing of
3198-572: The 15th century, Mir Chakar Khan Rind became the first Sirdar of Afghan, Iranian 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
3280-618: The Balochi macrolanguage, keeping Koroshi separate. Balochi, somehow near similarity with the Parthian and on the other hand, it has near kinship to the Avestan . There are two main dialects: the dialect of the Mandwani (northern) tribes and the dialect of the Domki (southern) tribes. The dialectal differences are not very significant. One difference is that grammatical terminations in
3362-659: The Bolan Pass, which has been used as the route of choice from the coast to Central Asia, entering through Afghanistan's Kandahar region. The British and other historic empires have crossed the region to invade Afghanistan by this route. Balochistan is rich in exhaustible and renewable resources; it is the second major supplier of natural gas in Pakistan. The province's renewable and human resource potential has not been systematically measured or exploited. Local inhabitants have chosen to live in towns and have relied on sustainable water sources for thousands of years. The climate of
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3444-699: 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. in July 1948. 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. The Prince indulged in Terror activities without any assistance from others. Jinnah and his successors allowed Yar Khan to retain his title until
3526-579: The Port of Gwadar lying in the Arabian Sea. Although it makes up about 44% of the land area of Pakistan, only 5% of it is arable and it is noted for an extremely dry desert climate . Despite this, agriculture and livestock make up about 47% of Balochistan's economy. The name " Balochistan " means "the land of the Baloch ". Largely underdeveloped, its economy is also dominated by natural resources, especially its natural gas fields . Aside from Quetta ,
3608-525: 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. 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. In
3690-419: The abandonment of that city, its name, Zarang or Zaranj in later Perso-Arabic orthography, was transferred to the subsequent administrative centers of the region, which itself came to be known as Sakastān, then Sijistan and finally Sistān . Medieval Zaranj is located at Nād-i `Alī, 4.4 km north of the modern city of Zaranj. According to the Arab geographers, prior to medieval Zaranj, the capital of Sistan
3772-546: 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, 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. In common with
3854-620: The capital of Nimroz province. A new highway called Route 606 was built between Zaranj and Delaram in Farah province by the Indian Government 's Border Roads Organization at a cost of about US$ 136 million to open up a link between the deep sea port at Chabahar in Iran to Afghanistan's main ring road highway system which connects Kabul , Kandahar , Herat , Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz . The 215-kilometre-long (134 mi) highway,
3936-484: The city relies mostly on Iranian products. With the increase of trade the Afghan Border Police is dealing with a rise in smuggling, particularly illegal drugs and weapons. The overall economic situation is becoming better for the local population of the city. Hundreds of trucks containing merchandise from the Middle East enter the city on a daily basis. In the last decade, the U.S. Marines and others of
4018-468: The city, the Taliban broke into the city's prison, releasing a large number of prisoners into Zaranj. On March 8, 2022, the New York Times reported a boom in the business of smugglers helping - for payment - the escape of hundreds of thousands of Afghans seeking to cross into Iran, to escape the Taliban rule and/or the harsh economic conditions. According to the report, "nearly everyone in Zaranj
4100-406: The early 18th century, the city became part of the Afghan Hotaki dynasty until they were removed from power in 1738 by Nader Shah of Khorasan . Zaranj came under Khanate of Kalat in the mid-18th century. Under the modern Afghan governments, the area was known as Farah-Chakansur Province until 1968, when it was separated to form the provinces of Nimruz and Farah . The city of Zaranj became
4182-404: 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. After the Second Afghan War
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#17327755482344264-403: The languages with the most native speakers in the province are Balochi , spoken by 39.91% of the population (an increase of 4% compared to the 2017 census), and Pashto whose share is at 34.34%. The Pashtuns mainly inhabit the north of Balochistan and form the majority in Quetta . Baloch on the other hand are found throughout Balochistan, but most highly concentrated in the west and south of
4346-407: The leased areas of Baluchistan, stating that they, "as a part of the Baloch nation, were a part of the Kalat state too" and that if the question of Baluchistan's accession to Pakistan arise, "they should be deemed part of the Kalat state rather than (British) Balochistan". This has brought into question whether an actual vote took place. Political scientist Salman Rafi Sheikh, in locating the origins of
4428-468: The long vowels. The variety spoken in Karachi also has nasalized vowels, most importantly /ẽː/ and /ãː/ . In addition to these eight vowels, Balochi has two vowel glides, that is /aw/ and /ay/. The following table shows consonants which are common to both Western (Northern) and Southern Balochi. The consonants /s/, /z/, /n/, /ɾ/ and /l/ are articulated as alveolar in Western Balochi. The plosives /t/ and /d/ are dental in both dialects. The symbol ń
4510-414: The lowest literacy rate in comparison to other provinces, factors some allege have contributed to the insurgency. However, in seventh NFC awards, Punjab province and Federal contributed to increase Baluchistan share more than its entitled population based share. In Balochistan poverty is increasing. In 2001–2002 poverty incidences were at 48% and by 2005–2006 these were at 50.9%. According to a report on Dawn,
4592-409: The mouth of the Strait of Hormuz and provides the shortest route from seaports to Central Asia. Its geographical location has placed the otherwise desolate region in the scope of competing for global interests for all of recorded history. The capital city Quetta is located in a densely populated portion of the Sulaiman Mountains in the northeast of the province. It is situated in a river valley near
4674-441: The name of an ancient city whose name is also attested in Old Persian as Zranka . In Greek, this word became Drangiana . Other historical names for Zaranj include Zirra, Zarangia, Zarani etc. Ultimately, the word Zaranj is derived from the ancient Old Persian word zaranka ("waterland"). Achaemenid Zranka, the capital of Drangiana , was almost certainly located at Dahan-e Gholaman , southeast of Zabol in Iran . After
4756-576: The northern dialect are less distinct compared with those in the southern tribes. An isolated dialect is Koroshi , which is spoken in the Qashqai tribal confederation in the Fars province . Koroshi distinguishes itself in grammar and lexicon among Balochi varieties. The Balochi Academy Sarbaz has designed a standard alphabet for Balochi. The Balochi vowel system has at least eight vowels: five long and three short . These are /aː/ , /eː/ , /iː/ , /oː/ , /uː/ , /a/ , /i/ and /u/ . The short vowels have more centralized phonetic quality than
4838-570: The other provinces of Pakistan, Balochistan has a parliamentary form of government. The ceremonial head of the province is the Governor , who is appointed by the President of Pakistan on the advice of the provincial Chief Minister . The Chief Minister, the province's chief executive, is normally the leader of the largest political party or alliance of parties in the provincial assembly. The unicameral Provincial Assembly of Balochistan comprises 65 seats of which 11 are reserved for women and 3 reserved for non-Muslims. The judicial branch of government
4920-401: The popular wishes of the masses" and that members of the Kalat State were "excluded from voting; only representatives from the British part of the province voted and the British part included the leased areas of Quetta, Nasirabad Tehsil, Nushki and Bolan Agency." Following the referendum, on 22 June 1947 the Khan of Kalat received a letter from members of the Shahi Jirga, as well as sardars from
5002-398: The province is divided into seven divisions: Kalat , Makran , Nasirabad , Quetta , Sibi , Zhob and Rakhshan . This divisional level was abolished in 2000, but restored after the 2008 election. Each division is under an appointed commissioner. The seven divisions are further subdivided into 36 districts: As of June 2021, there are eight divisions. The eighth division, Loralai Division
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#17327755482345084-644: 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. While many Baloch support the demand for autonomy, the majority are not interested in seceding from Pakistan. 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
5166-406: The province. Brahui is spoken by 17.22% mainly in the central part of Balochistan. Other languages include Sindhi (3.81%), Saraiki (2.19%), Punjabi (0.59%), Urdu (0.53%) and others at (1.5%). Balochi forms the majority in 21 districts and Pashto forms majority in 9 districts of Balochistan. Brahui has majority in 4 districts. In the Lasbela , Hub districts and in Kachhi plain region
5248-420: The province. The Hindu population in the province was approximately 49,133 (including the Scheduled Castes). The Shri Hinglaj Mata mandir which is the largest Hindu pilgrimage centre in Pakistan is situated in Balochistan. There was also a Christian minority of 26,462 individuals in the province. The literacy rate of the province in 2017 was 43.6%, an increase from 24.8% in 1998. The economy of Balochistan
5330-400: The province. The Lasbela district was the worst hit as the floods washed away fourt-fifth's of the homes, crops and livestock. Due to the floods and severe drought conditions, the province faces food insecurity and is 85% dependent on the Sindh and Punjab provinces for the supply of wheat. Furthermore, with the exception of Quetta , Balochistan has been called a "neglected province where
5412-458: The question and falling tone the statement. Statements and questions with a question word are characterized by falling intonation at the end of the sentence. Questions without a question word are characterized by rising intonation at the end of the sentence. Both coordinate and subordinate clauses that precede the final clause in the sentence have rising intonation. The final clause in the sentence has falling intonation. The normal word order
5494-462: The rate of multidimensional poverty in Balochistan had risen to 71% by 2016. Several major development projects, including the construction of a new deep sea port at the strategically important town of Gwadar , are in progress in Balochistan. The port is projected to be the hub of an energy and trade corridor to and from China, Middle East and the Central Asian republics. The Mirani Dam on the Dasht River , 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Turbat in
5576-405: The script fell out of use. Zaranj Zaranj ( Persian / Pashto / Balochi : زرنج ) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan , which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkargah and Kandahar to the east, Farah to the north and the Iranian city of Zabol to the west. The Abresham border crossing
5658-399: The second-largest city of the province is Turbat in the south, while another area of major economic importance is the port city of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, an emerging future business hub. 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
5740-444: The time of the Indian independence movement , "three pro-Congress parties were still active in Balochistan's politics apart from Balochistan's Muslim League ", such as the Anjuman-i-Watan Baluchistan , which favoured a united India and opposed its partition . In British-ruled Colonial India, Baluchistan contained a Chief Commissioner's province and princely states (including Kalat , Makran , Las Bela and Kharan ) that became
5822-429: The two countries," Mukherjee said at a function to mark this handover. On the occasion, Karzai said, the completion of the project is a message to those who want to stop cooperation between India and Afghanistan. "Our cooperation will not stop". The Taliban was opposed to this project and launched frequent attacks on the construction workers in an attempt to force the winding up of the work. A total of six Indians, including
5904-436: 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, where temperatures can drop to −20 °C (−4 °F), to milder conditions closer to the Makran coast. Winters are mild on the plains, with temperatures never falling below freezing point. Summers are hot and dry, especially in
5986-552: Was Mehrgarh , dated at 7000 BCE, within the province. Balochistan marked the westernmost extent of civilisation. Centuries before the arrival of Islam in the seventh century, parts of Balochistan were 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 . The Sibi Division , which
6068-689: Was carved out of Quetta Division and Kalat Division in 1974, derives its name from Rani Sewi, the queen of the Sewa dynasty. The remnants of the earliest people in Balochistan were the Brahui people , a Dravidian speaking people . The Brahuis retained the Dravidian language throughout the millennias. Although during the Stone and Bronze Age and Alexander the Great 's empire an indigenous population existed,
6150-614: Was confirmed by local sources that the city had been captured by the Taliban , making it the first provincial capital captured by the Taliban during their advances after the withdrawal of foreign forces in Afghanistan . Afghan officials stated the Taliban faced "little resistance" in capturing the city with the 215th Corps of the Afghan National Army focusing instead on the Battle of Lashkargah . Shortly after entering
6232-450: Was created by bifurcating Zhob Division. (km) (2023) (people/km) Balochistan's population density is low due to the mountainous terrain and scarcity of water. In March 2012, preliminary census figures showed that the population of Balochistan, not including the districts of Khuzdar, Kech and Panjgur, had reached 13,162,222, an increase of 139.3% from 5,501,164 in 1998. The population constituted 6.85% of Pakistan's total population. This
6314-738: 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. In 1893, Sir Mortimer Durand negotiated an agreement with
6396-546: Was located at Ram Shahristan (Abar shariyar). Ram Shahristan had been supplied with water by a canal from the Helmand River, but its dam broke, the area was deprived of water, and the populace moved three days' march to found Zaranj. This Zaranj appears on the Peutinger Map of late Antiquity . The area came under Muslim rule in 652, when Zaranj surrendered to the governor of Khurāsān ; it subsequently became
6478-405: Was the largest increase in population in any province of Pakistan during that time period, almost thrice the national increase of 46.9%. Official estimates of Balochistan's population grew from approximately 7.45 million in 2003 to 7.8 million in 2005. The 2023 Census enumerated a population of 14,894,402. Languages of Balochistan (2023) According to the preliminary results of the 2023 census ,
6560-648: Was the local coppersmith turned warlord , Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar . It became part of the Ghaznavids , Ghorids , Trimurids , Safavids and others. Defeated by the Samanids in 900, the Saffarids sank to a position of regional importance, until conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1003. Subsequently, Zaranj served as the capital of the Nasrid (1029–1225) and Mihrabānid (1236–1537) maliks of Nīmrūz. In
6642-525: Was used for several texts, including children's books, newspapers, and ideological works. In 1938, however, the official use of Balochi was discontinued. In 1989, Mammad Sherdil, a teacher from the Turkmen SSR , approached Balochi language researcher Sergei Axenov with the idea of creating a Cyrillic -based alphabet for Balochi. Before this, the Cyrillic script was already used for writing Balochi and
6724-399: Was used in several publications but the alphabet was not standardized. In 1990, the alphabet was finished. It included the following letters: The project was approved with some minor changes ( қ , ꝑ , and ы were removed due to the rarity of those sounds in Balochi, and о̄ was added). From 1992 to 1993, several primary school textbooks were printed in this script. In the early 2000s,
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