Nushki (
, ) is a town and district in
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 fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. It lies in a plain south-west of
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...
, at an elevation of above sea level. From Nushki, the flat Balochistan desert stretches away northward and westward to the
Helmand River
The Helmand River (also spelled Helmend, or Helmund, Hirmand; Pashto/ Persian: ; Greek: ' (''Etýmandros''); Latin: ') is the longest river in Afghanistan and the primary watershed for the endorheic Sistan Basin. It emerges in the Sanglak ...
.
History
Nushki was a starting off point for the British exploration of Central Asia. The British, concerned that their colonies in India would be attacked overland by either Napoleon or the Russians, sent two British officers, Captain
Charles Christie and Lieutenant Henry Pottinger, to explore the regions between Balochistan and Persia, which was then allied with the British. Christie and Pottinger traveled from the coast to Kelat (now Kalat) and separated at Nushki on March 22, 1810, with Christie going northwest to Herat and Pottinger traveling west across the deserts. It was unlikely that either of the two men would be accepted by the locals, and they concealed their identities by posing as horse-traders or holy men during their respective journeys. They were reunited in Isfahan on June 30, 1810, with Christie haven ridden 2,250 miles and Pottinger having ridden 2,412 miles.
[Peter Hopkirk, ''The Great Game'' (1994), pp. 38-55.]
See also
*
Nushki District
Nushki District ( ur, ) is one of the districts of Balochistan province, Pakistan. The administration of the Nushki district was taken over from the Khan of Kalat by the British government in 1896, and was leased from him on a perpetual quit re ...
References
{{commons category, Nushki tehsil
Populated places in Balochistan, Pakistan
Nushki District
Deserts of Pakistan