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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
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 ...
. It is the capital of the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Balochistan where it is the largest city. Quetta is at an average elevation of above sea level, making it Pakistan's only high-altitude major city. The city is known as the ''"Fruit Garden of Pakistan"'' due to the numerous fruit orchards in and around it, and the large variety of fruits and dried fruit products produced there.
Located in northern Balochistan near the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border and the road across to
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a 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 of about 614,118. It is the c ...
, Quetta is a trade and communication centre between the two countries. The city is near the
Bolan Pass route which was once one of the major gateways from Central Asia to South Asia. Quetta played an important role militarily for the
Pakistani Armed Forces in the
intermittent Afghanistan conflict.
Etymology
The name ''Quetta'' is a variation of the
Pashto word ''Kwatkōṭ'', or ''kōta'' meaning "fortress". Quetta was formerly known as Shalkot ( ps, ښالکوټ; bal, شال کوٹ),
History
The immediate area has long been one of pastures and mountains, with varied
plants
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...
and animals relative to the dry plains to the west.
From 11th century, the land of Quetta was owned and ruled by the Kasi Pashtun tribe. It was captured by
Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi during his
invasion of South Asia.
In 1543, Mughal emperor
Humayun came to Quetta en route to
Safavid Persia, leaving his son and future Mughal emperor
Akbar here. In 1709, the region was a part of Afghan
Hotak dynasty
The Hotak dynasty ( ps, fa, ) was an Afghan monarchy founded by Ghilji Pashtuns that briefly ruled portions of Iran and Afghanistan during the 1720s. It was established in April 1709 by Mirwais Hotak, who led a successful revolution against t ...
and stayed a part until 1747 when
Ahmed Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahma ...
conquered it and made it a part of
Durrani Empire. The first European visited Quetta in 1828, describing it as ''mud-walled fort surrounded by three hundred mud houses''.
In 1876 Quetta was occupied by the British and subsequently incorporated into
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
.
[ In 1856, British General John Jacob had urged his government to occupy Quetta given its strategic position on the western frontier. British Troops constructed the infrastructure for their establishment.
By the time of the earthquake on 31 May 1935, Quetta had developed into a bustling city with a number of multi-storey buildings and so was known as "Little London". The epicenter of the earthquake was close to the city and destroyed most of the city's infrastructure, killing an estimated 40,000 people.]
Geography
Climate
Quetta has a cold semi-arid climate (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 ...
''BSk'') with a significant variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summer starts about late May and goes on until early September with average temperatures ranging from . The highest temperature in Quetta is which was recorded on 10 July 1998. Autumn starts in mid-September and continues until mid-November with average temperatures in the range. Winter starts in late November and ends in late February, with average temperatures near . The lowest temperature in Quetta is which was recorded on 8 January 1970. Spring starts in early March and ends in mid-May, with average temperatures close to . Unlike more easterly parts of Pakistan, Quetta does not have a monsoon season of heavy rainfall. Highest rainfall during 24 hours in Quetta is which was recorded on 17 December 2000, Highest monthly rainfall of was recorded in March 1982, also the year of the highest annual rainfall, at . In the winter, snowfall has become quite erratic (December, January and February).
The city saw a severe drought from 1999 to 2001, during which the city did not receive snowfall and below normal rains. In 2002 the city received snow after a gap of five years. In 2004 and 2005, the city received normal rains after three years without snowfall while in 2006, 2007 and 2009 the city received no snow. In 2008 Quetta received a snowfall of in four hours on 29 January, followed on 2 February by in 10 hours – the city's heaviest snowfall in a decade. During the winter of 2010 it received no snow and saw below normal rains due to the presence of El-Nino over Pakistan.
Demographics
The population of the city is around one million. In 2016, it was estimated at 1,140,000, but the 2017 Census revealed a total of 1,001,205. This makes it the largest city in Balochistan province and one of the major cities of Pakistan. The scholars disagree about the demographics of the city. According to some, the city has a Pashtun plurality followed by Baloch people, other indigenous people of Balochistan, Hazaras and lastly the settlers from other areas of Pakistan. Others think the city has a Pashtun majority followed by Balochs
The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There ar ...
, Hazaras, Brahui, Punjabis and Muhajir people
Muhajir or Mohajir ( ar, مهاجر, '; pl. , ') is an Arabic word meaning ''migrant'' (see immigration and emigration) which is also used in other languages spoken by Muslims, including English. In English, this term and its derivatives may refer ...
. being national language is used and understood by all the residents and serves as a lingua franca.
According to Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
and the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, there are as many as 500,000-600,000
Hazaras living in Quetta and its surrounding areas.
Administration
At the local level, the city is governed by a municipal corporation consisting of 66 ward members which elects a mayor and a deputy mayor.
In addition,
Quetta development authority is responsible for provision of municipal services for the city.
Transportation
Quetta is on the western side of
Pakistan and is connected to the rest of the country by a network of roads, railways and its international airport close to its center.
At an altitude of above sea level,
Quetta Airport is the second highest airport in Pakistan.
Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...
has regular flights to and from the other major cities of Pakistan including
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
,
Gwadar
Gwadar ( Balochi/ ur, ) is a port city with located on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, Pakistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea opposite Oman. Gwadar is the 100th largest city of Pakistan, according to the 2017 ...
,
Karachi,
Lahore and
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
.
Quetta Railway Station is one of the highest railway stations in Pakistan at above sea level. The railway track was laid in the 1890s during the British era to link Quetta with rest of the country. The extensive network of
Pakistan Railways connects Quetta to Karachi in the south, by a track,
Lahore in the northeast (1,170 km or 727 miles) and
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
further northeast (1,587 km or 986 miles). A metalled road runs alongside the railway that connects Quetta to Karachi via the nearby town of
Sibi to
Jacobabad and
Rohri
Rohri (Sindhi: روهڙي; ur, ) is a city of Sukkur District, Sindh province, Pakistan. It is located on the east bank of the Indus River, located directly across from Sukkur, the third largest city in Sindh. Rohri town is the administrative ...
in the plain of the
River Indus.
Education
Quetta serves as the learning centre for the Balochistan province. The city has a number of government and private colleges, including the following:
*
University of Balochistan
The University of Balochistan (UB) (Urdu: جامعہ بلوچستان; Balochi: بلوچستان ء یونیورسٹی ), also known as Balochistan University, is a public university located in the downtown area of Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. ...
*
Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS)
*
Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University
* Islamia High School: It was frequently visited by
Quaid-e-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
in 1937 and was nicknamed as ''Chhota Aligarh'' (Little
Aligarh
Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the cap ...
) by him
*
St. Joseph's Convent School, Quetta
*
Bolan Medical College
* University Law College (ULC)
*
Balochistan Agriculture College
*
Tameer-e-Nau Public College
*
St Francis Grammar School ''For the school of the same name in Hartlepool, England, see St Francis RC Grammar School.''
St. Francis' Grammar School is a private Catholic secondary school located in Baluchistan, Pakistan. The school is situated on the Zarghoon Road (formerl ...
*
Pakistan Command and Staff College
( ''romanized'': Pir Sho Biyamooz Saadi)English: Grow old, learning Saadi
ur, سیکھتے ہوئے عمر رسیدہ ہو جاؤ، سعدی
, established = (as the ''Army Staff College'' in Deolali, British India)
, closed ...
*
Science College
Science Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, science and mathematics
Mathemati ...
*
OPF Public School
* School of Infantry and Tactics
* Quetta Institute of Medical Sciences
Sports
Football is the most popular sport among the people of Quetta. Football teams from Quetta include: Quetta Zorawar,
Muslim FC,
Balochistan United W.F.C.
Balochistan United Women Football Club is a Pakistani women's football club based in Quetta. The club competes in the National Women Football Championship.
History
In 2004 Rubina Irfan founded Balochistan United around her three daughters and ...
, Hazara Green Football Club, Baluch Football Club and Quetta Bazigars Club. Balochistan United W.F.C. won the
2014 National Women Championship.
Bugti Stadium is the home of
Balochistan cricket team
Balochistan cricket team is a domestic cricket team in Pakistan representing Balochistan province. It competes in domestic first-class, List A and T20 cricket competitions, namely the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan Cup and National T20 Cup. Th ...
, a
first-class cricket team which competes in domestic tournaments,
and the Quetta based team
Quetta Gladiators compete in the
Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Boxing is highly popular as well.
Muhammad Waseem is a professional boxer from Quetta. In Body Building Nisar Ahmed Khilji has Mr. Balochistan and Mr. Pakistan Titles and Pakistan representation in International Body Building Contests. In hockey, Quetta has produced
Zeeshan Ashraf and
Shakeel Abbasi, who were members of the
Pakistan's national hockey team.
Facilities
The Shaheed Nauoroz Stadium is the largest stadium in the city. The city also has
Ayub National Stadium, a multipurpose stadium used for football and cricket and
Bugti Stadium for cricket.
Local facilities were created in the city for
mountain climbing and
caving
Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...
as well as water sports.
Hayatullah Khan Durrani (
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
) is the chief executive of Hayat Durrani Water Sports Academy, Balochistan's first and only Rowing, Canoeing, Kayaking, Sailing, rough swimming and boating academy where all such facilities provide free to the youth members at
Hanna Lake.
Villages
*
Hajika, 190 km south from Quetta
Twin towns and sister cities
See also
*
2008 Ziarat earthquake
*
List of people from Quetta
This is the list of notable people who were born, lived or grew up in Quetta (the provincial capital of Balochistan province of Pakistan) and Quetta District. List is ordered by the professions of people.
Civil and military officers
* Abdul ...
*
Pashtun cuisine
Pashtun cuisine ( ps, پښتنۍ خواړه) refers to the cuisine of the Pashtun people and is covered under both Afghan and Pakistani cuisines. It is largely based on meat dishes including mutton, beef, chicken, and fish as well as rice and so ...
*
Quetta hut
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Balochistan Board
* (archived 18 October 2010)
{{Authority control
Capitals of Pakistan
Cities destroyed by earthquakes
Populated places in Balochistan, Pakistan
Metropolitan areas of Pakistan
*