Kalmat Hor or Kalmat Khor is a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

located along the

Makran Makran ( fa, مكران), mentioned in some sources as Mecran and Mokrān, is the coastal region of Baluchistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in Balochistan, in Pakistan and Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. It extends westwards, ...

coast of

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 ...

. The

Basol River Basol River () is a river that flows southward in the Gwadar District of Balochistan Province, in southwestern Pakistan. The Basol River drains a desert area of the Makran region, with its river mouth at Khor Kalmat lagoon on the Gulf of Oman, of ...

drains into the Kalmat Hor lagoon. In recent times, it has gained attention for being the locality where the

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...

plans to build a base, known as the

Kalmat Naval Base Kalmat Naval Base is a proposed naval base of the Pakistan Navy at Khor Kalmat, Balochistan, Pakistan. Location Khor Kalmat is a lagoon located on the Makran coast of Balochistan. The Basol River drains into the Khor Kalmat lagoon. The geograp ...

. Kalmat lies about 350 km west of

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 ...

; the area is located at a distance of about 20 km from the

Makran Coastal Highway The N-10 or National Highway 10 (Urdu: ) is a 653 km national highway in Pakistan which extends along Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast from Karachi in Sindh province to Gwadar in Balochistan province. It passes the towns of Ormara and Pasni. ...

. There are four main settlements in the area viz. Kalmat, Chundi, Gursant and Makola. People are living below the poverty line and thus dependence on natural resources mainly fishery has increased. Now there is uncertainty in returns expected from fishing. The population of Kalmat area is about 2,000. Majority of them are fishermen and belong to the

Kalmati Kalmati or Qarmati, Qarmatian, Karmati, Kalmat is a Baloch clan settled in the Balochistan and Sindh provinces of Pakistan. They are part of the Hoth (Baloch Tribe) Hoth Tribe, claiming descent from King Hoth, a son of Jalal Khan. When the Hot ...

and Sanghur Baloch tribes. About 95% of the population is engaged in fishing activities.

Kalmat naval base

The Pakistan Navy is planning to construct the Kalmat Naval Base at Kalmat Hor.

Buzi Makola Wildlife Sanctuary

The Buzi Makola Wildlife Sanctuary is located at the Kalmat Hor.

Fishery

Fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

is the main source of economic sustainance and revenue in the region; the water surrounding Kalmat Hor provide high quality prawns and other different types of fish. Annually, millions of

rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

s worth of prawns and fish are exported from Kalmat to Karachi and the international market. Sources say that if the government of Pakistan decides to go ahead with their plan to build the naval base, it will cost thousands of fishermen their jobs. It is also feared that thousands of fishermen will lose their jobs, as the Pakistan Navy will take over the area.

References

External links

World Wide Fund for Nature's development at Kalmat Khor
Lagoons of Pakistan Landforms of Balochistan (Pakistan) {{Balochistan-geo-stub