Bostan (بوستان) is a town, 30 km by road (18.64 mi) from

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

city in the

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is located at (30°25'57N, 67°00'22E) and has an altitude of 1,593 metres (5,229 feet). Bostan is Tehsil of the

Pishin District Pishin (, ), IPA: pʂin/pçin, is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. District Pishin is located at a strategic point and is 45km² from the provincial headquarters, Quetta. In 1975, it was bifurcated from Quetta District, while ...

. It was previously included in Tehsil Karezat and covers an area between Mount Takathu and the Red Hills (Bostan clay).

History

This region was named after Bostan, who was great tribal leader and head of the Panezai clan of the

Kakar The Kakar (Pashto: کاکړ) is a Gharghashti Pashtun tribe, based in Afghanistan, parts of Iran, and northern Balochistan in Pakistan. Origins of the tribe Kakars are descendants of Dani (or Daani) who was the son of Gharghasht. Gharghasht wa ...

tribe. Bostan took part in the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War () was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan ( Bara ...

(1839–1842). During the British era, Bostan is a famous railway junction which connecting Quetta with

Zhob Zhob (; ), formerly known as Fort Sandeman is a city and district headquarters of the Zhob District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of the Zhob river. It lies 337 kilometres away from Quetta, the capital ...

Harnai Harnai (, ) town serves as the administrative headquarters of Harnai District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Until 2007, the town was in Sibi District. It is located in the northeast of Balochistan province. The town is surrounded ...

and

Chaman Chaman (Pashto and ) is the capital city of the Chaman District in Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan, Pakistan. It is located near the Durand Line, Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The city is situated south of the Wesh–Chaman border crossing with ...

. Bostan and

were connected by a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

railway track which was later dismantled by Panjab through Pashtun leader Nawab Muhammad Ayaz Jogizai around in June of 2008. Now here in Bostan, more of the Bazai tribe than the Panizai tribe are living. They are also a clan of Kakar tribe. Their tribal leaders were Malik Sher Ali Akhund. Mr. Rahim's dad was the father of Malik Sher Ali Akhund who also took part in the British war. The Bostan Takato mountain which rises 3,000 meters. In which about a thousand markhors (Capra's) are found, and here the Bazai nation has given 800 acres of land for industrial zone on which various industries will be built. The total length of this railway from Bostan to Zhob was 294 km, which made it the longest

railway of the subcontinent in 1920s. It had 11 stations in between including the famous Kan Mehtarzai station which was the highest station in Pakistan at an altitude of 2,224 meters (7,295 feet). For a long part of its journey, the railway followed the Zhob River and thus it was called the Zhob Valley Railway (ZVR).

Chronology of Bostan Zhob Railway

* 1916: Work started on Khanai – Hindubagh section of ZVR. * 1 January 1921: 74.7 km (46.12 mi) long Khanai to Hindubagh Narrow gauge track was completed * 2 May 1927: 62.93 km (38.85 mi) long Hindubagh to Qila Saifullah section of NG line was opened * 15 January 1929: 143.62 km (88.66 mi) long Qila Saifullah to Fort Sandeman (now called Zhob) section of NG line was opened. Only goods traffic started on this section on this date. * 15 July 1929: Passenger service started from Qila Saifullah to Fort Sandeman (now Zhob) * Year 1932 Bostan Harnai track dismantled for political reasons. * 20 November 1939: 15.84 km (9.78 mi) long Khanai to ''Bostan'' Jn NG was opened * 1985: ''Bostan'' to Zhob Narrow Gauge line was closed down for passenger service * 1986: ''Bostan'' to Zhob Narrow Gauge line was closed down for freight service * 2007–08: Narrow gauge track was uprooted and auctioned off for roughly Rs 300 million

References

{{Coord, 30, 25, 57, N, 67, 00, 22, E, display=title Populated places in Pishin District