The History of Quetta

                                           
                               

         Quetta – Fruit Garden of Balochistan

Sitting at 1,680 metres (5,500 feet) above sea level, Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, occupies a strategic position since the boundaries of Iran and Afghanistan meet here, and the Bolan Pass lies on important lines of communications. Located in a river valley, it is connected by rail with Lahore, (727 miles), with Peshawar (986 miles), and Karachi (536 miles). A new road connects it with Karachi through Khuzdar, Makran and Las Bela. It is also connected with Zahidan (Iran) by rail. 
Quetta derives its name from the Balochi "Kuwatta", which means a fort. The city is surrounded by imposing hills like Chiltan, Takatoo, Murdar and Zarghun. It lies 1692 meters above sea level at the mouth of Bolan Pass. The inhabitants are mainly Pathans, Baluch and Brahvis, therefore Pushto, Balochi, Brahvi and Urdu languages are widely spoken. It is famous for its honey sweet apples and many other verities of fruit. Quetta abounds in various varieties of apples and grapes. The orchards clutter the entire suburbs of Quetta and other important towns. For the abundance of fruit, Quetta is rightly called as the Fruit Basket of Pakistan.

The name Quetta originates from the Pashtoo word Kwatta which means a fort. In the beginning, the town was situated within the walls of fort “A Miri” which is now used as an arsenal. The district is bounded on the north by district Pishin; on the east by Ziarat; on the south by Mastung and on the west by district Killa Abdullah.

Till the middle of the eighteenth century, the history of Quetta district is identical with the history of Kandahar. In the eleventh century it was part of the Graeco-Bactrian empire. After that it remained under the Kingdom of the Amir Sabuktagain and Mahmood Ghaznavi till the thirteenth century. In 1470, the Kandahar Kingdom was succeeded by Timur’s. Between 1530 and 1545, the Province of Kandahar was in the possession of Mirza Kamran (The brother of a Mughal ruler). In1622 the Kingdom was brought under the sway of the Safavid dynasty and remained there until 1709. Later Ghilzai came into power and ruled the area. Thereafter, Quetta was transferred to Nadir. Later on history relates that Ahmed Shah Durrani finally conferred Quetta to the Khan of Kalat as a shall (present).

The British Government occupied Quetta during the first Afghan war in 1839. Just after three years, in 1842, it came back into the hands of Khan of Kalat. Due to its strategic importance, it was reoccupied by Sir Robert Sandeman in 1876.

On 26 May, 1876, a treaty was signed by Amir Yaqoob Khan of Afghanistan with the British Government at Gandamak. Thus the conflict which emerged as a result of the first and second Afghan war came to an end.

In 1883, Quetta was formed into a separate single administrative unit (Quetta - Pishin district). Due to its geo-strategic importance, the British built Quetta as a garrison town. They extended the roads and railway network to Afghanistan and Iran. This situation remained unchanged till the partition of the Sub-continent in 1947.

Under the one-unit system from 1955 to 1970, Quetta and Kalat were the administrative units in West Pakistan. After abolishing the unitary system, Quetta was declared as Capital of Balochistan. Till 1975, Quetta and Pishin were a single administrative unit. In that year Pishin was declared a separate district.

Very little is known about the human settlement in the district. However, it is certain that the Afghans and Brahuis are recent immigrants. The Pashtoons appear to have entered the district from the north east, emigrating from their home round the Takht-i-Sulaman. Kasis (A branch of Afghan) are said to have migrated from their home around the Takht-i-Sulaman about eight centuries ago. They made their first settlement at Samli, a village near Quetta city. The Brahuis are an offshoot from the Kalat territory and their presence in the district dates back to the eighteenth century.

With the passage of time, Quetta began to expand and soon it turned into a beautiful small town. The British paid special attention to its cleanliness. However, 31 May, 1935 was a black day in the history of Quetta. An earthquake destroyed Quetta city completely. The Cantonment area survived to a great extent.

The reconstruction started soon after. Till 1947 Quetta was a small town. People used to call it small London. But rapid population growth in terms of rural - urban migration, and influx of Indian refugees increased the population at Quetta. Influx of Afghan refugees during the 1980s helped the slums to grow. New settlement in the form of housing schemes emerged at Satellite Town, Jinnah Town, Samungli Town, Model Town and Shahbaz Town. In Kachi Abadies, slums also begun to develop. The process of settlement continues. Now Quetta has turned into an over-populated city

There are some mounds and karezes of ancient time in the district. The most important archaeological site is a Quetta Miri (a mass of indurated clay). The base of Miri is 183 meter long by 122 meter wide and rises 24.4 meter above the plain. The Miri is now used as an Arsenal. Among other noticeable mounds are one between Katir and Kuchlak, known as the Kasiano Dozakh, Tor Ghund near Baleli and Tor Wasi between Panjpai and Muhammad Khel. Besides, some karezes of archaeological interest are found at Kirani, Sariab and Kachi Baig.

Quetta is also spelled Kuwatah which is a variation of Kot,Pashto word meaning “fortress.” It is believed the city’s name is derived from the four imposing hills (Chiltan, Takatu, Zarghoon andMurdaar) that surround the city and form a natural bulwark. Quetta, is the provincial capital of, theBalochistan province of Pakistan. It is also Known as the Fruit Garden of Balochistan due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is situated at an average elevation of 1,680 meters (5,500 ft) above sea level, making it Pakistan’s only high-altitude major city. The population of Quetta was 11,000 in 1891 to a total of between 1,865,137 and 2.8 million according to the 2012 reports which makes it the 6th largest city in Pakistan.

Demographics

Quetta was a part of Afghanistan but in 19th century it was made part of British Raj. Quetta mainly comprises of Pashtun, It also have Baloch, Hazaras, Punjabi and other Minority Groups. Pashto is the language spoken by majority of Quetta residents. Other languages include Brahui, Balochi, Urdu,Punjabi, Saraiki, Hazaragi, and Sindhi.

 
Geography
The area of Quetta is 2,653 km²  , which is surrounded by Four Mountains which acts as a natural fort. Quetta has an imported strategic location, because it act as a trade route between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bolan Pass is also located there which is the gate way to South Asia.

History
The area was in control by Kasi Tribe Pashtun. The first important incident of Quetta is from the 11th century when it was captured by Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi during his invasions of South Asia. In 1543, the Mughal emperor Humayun rested in Quetta on his retreat to Safavid Persia, leaving his one-year-old son Akbar in the city. In 1828 the first westerner visit Quetta. Quetta originally belongs to Afghanistan. It was briefly captured by British during First Afghan War in 1839, in 1876 Quetta became part of British Empire. British Troops constructed the infrastructure for their establishment as it was a strategic location. By the time of the earthquake on 31 May 1935 Quetta had developed into a bustling city with a number of multistory buildings. The epicentre of the earthquake was close to the city and destroyed most of the city’s infrastructure and killed an estimated 40,000 people. After many years the city has been rebuilt mainly with local funds.. However multi-story buildings are also built, while a number of buildings of three to five floors are being constructed in the city.

The predominantly Muslim population supported the Muslim League and the Pakistan Movement. On joining Pakistan, Quetta was made the capital city of the newly created province of Balochistan before it was combined with other Balochi princely states (Kalat, Makran, Lasbela and Kharan) to form theBaloch province. Quetta remained the capital of the province until 1959 when the provincial system was abolished under Ayub Khan. After the 1971 war, the provincial system was re-instated, and Quetta was once again made capital of Balochistan. Most of the Population of this City belongs to Pastun Tribes i.e., Alizai, Kasi, Kakar, Khilji, Syed, Durrani.