Chaman ( Balochi,

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

and ur, ) is a city and recently claimed as a new district of Balochistan named Chaman District as it was earlier a part of district

Qila Abdullah District Kila Abdullah District or Qilla Abdullah (Urdu and Balochi: , ps, قلعه عبدالله ولسوالی) is a district in the north west of Balochistan province of Pakistan. Kila Abdullah was separated from Pishin District and made a new dist ...

located on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. It is the capital of Chaman District,

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It is situated just south of the

Wesh–Chaman border crossing The Wesh–Chaman border crossing is one of the major international border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Located on the Pak-Afghan border, it leads north from the town of Chaman, Chaman District, Balochistan into Wesh in Spin Bolda ...

with the neighbouring

Kandahar Province Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzgan ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. After the capital

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

, Chaman is the fifth-largest city and tehsil in the

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

majority northern part of Balochistan, and is also Balochistan's fifth-largest city.

Climate

With an influence from the local steppe climate, Chaman features a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BSh''). The average annual temperature in Chaman is 19.0 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 232 mm. June is the driest month with 0 mm of rainfall, while the wettest month is January, with an average 65 mm of precipitation. July is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 31.0 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 6.4 °C.

Transport

Chaman has a railway station which accommodates services with

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

as well as other parts of

. A slow passenger train runs between Chaman and

daily. In 2008, it was proposed to extend this railway through Afghanistan to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Chaman is on the silk road on the eastern side.

Trade

The town is an important trade point in the Balochistan region, providing a gateway on the trade routes between Afghanistan and

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

. It underwent development during the

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

period of the 1980s. People of the city import many things like cars, motor bikes, motor rickshaws. Japanese, Chinese and UAE phones, cosmetics, perfumes, and many other consumer goods from Afghanistan into Pakistan.

Afghanistan War and terrorism

Chaman has been used by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

forces as a major supply route into Afghanistan since 2000. On 30 August 2009, an attack on a NATO convoy destroyed 20

fuel tanker A tank truck, gas truck, fuel truck, or tanker truck (American English) or tanker (British English) is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquids or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars, which are also desi ...

s and other supply trucks. The attackers reportedly fired rockets and small arms before destroying the trucks. Thousands of Afghan refugees enter Pakistan via the Chaman route on a regular basis. Bombings occurred in 2017, 2020 Chaman bombing, and 2021. In December 2022, Afghan Taliban forces launched indiscriminate fire at the Chaman border, twice in a week and caused civilian casualties on the Pakistani side.

Notable people

* Asghar Khan Achakzai, President of the

Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; ur, , ps, اولسي ملي ګوند; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its curr ...

* Waheed Khan Achakzai, Prominent

Singer * Jafar Khan Achakzai, Ex-Adisor to the chairman PTI Imran khan.

References

{{Most populous cities of Balochistan, Pakistan Chaman District Populated places in Balochistan, Pakistan