Quetta

The name Quetta is a variation of the Pashto word Kwatkōṭ, or kōta meaning "fortress".{{Citation |last=Everett-Heath |first=John |title=Quetta |date=24 October 2019 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191882913.001.0001/acref-9780191882913-e-6164 |work=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-188291-3 |access-date=4 September 2021 |doi=10.1093/acref/9780191882913.001.0001 |archive-date=4 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904184459/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191882913.001.0001/acref-9780191882913-e-6164 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} Quetta was formerly known as Shalkot ({{langx|ps|ښالکوټ}}, {{langx|ur|شالکوٹ}}).{{Cite book |last=Thornton |first=Thomas Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHpCAAAAIAAJ&dq=shalkot+Quetta&pg=PA211 |title=Colonel Sir Robert Sandeman: His Life and Work on Our Indian Frontier. A Memoir, with Selections from His Correspondence and Official Writings |date=1895 |publisher=J. Murray |language=en }}

{{See also|History of Quetta}}

File:Quetta 1880.JPG|Fort Mirri in 1880

File:Quetta4m.jpg|Quetta Cantonment, 1889

Modern day Quetta was captured by Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi during his invasion of India.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rk-sBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA470 |title=Historical Dictionary of Pakistan |last=Burki |first=Shahid Javed |year=2015 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781442241480 }} 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 and stayed a part until 1747 when Ahmed Shah Durrani 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.{{cite web |url=https://bhc.gov.pk/district-judiciary/quetta/introduction/history |title=History of District |work=bhc.gov.pk |access-date=26 November 2017 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201034148/https://bhc.gov.pk/district-judiciary/quetta/introduction/history |url-status=live }}

File: Quetta map before 1935.jpg|left]]

In 1876, Quetta was occupied by the British and subsequently incorporated into British India. In 1856, British General John Jacob had urged his government to occupy Quetta given its strategic position on the western frontier.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-48AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA458 |title=The Cambridge History of the British Empire |last=Dodwell |first=H. H. |date=1929 |publisher=CUP Archive }} British troops constructed the infrastructure for their establishment as a garrison town.{{Cite web |last=Shah |first=Syed Ali |date=29 December 2013 |title=Quetta: 'Little Paris' lost |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1077071 |access-date=18 July 2024 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en |archive-date=18 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718151952/https://www.dawn.com/news/1077071 |url-status=live }}

It was reconstructed after the 1935 Quetta earthquake, which razed the city to the ground. The epicentre of the earthquake was close to the city and destroyed most of the city's infrastructure, killing an estimated 40,000 people.{{cite web |author=ڈان اردو |date=30 December 2013 |title=پاکستانی شہروں کی تاریخ |url=http://www.dawnnews.tv/news/1001058 |access-date=26 February 2016 |work=dawnnews.tv |archive-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306213852/http://www.dawnnews.tv/news/1001058 |url-status=live }} After the foundation of Pakistan, Balochistan acquired the status of a province and Quetta became a provincial capital.

{{Main|Climate of Quetta}}

Quetta has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with a significant variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summer starts from late May and goes on until early September with average temperatures ranging from {{convert|24|–|26|C|F}}. The highest temperature in Quetta is {{convert|42|C|F}} which was recorded on 10 July 1998.{{cite web |url=http://www.pakmet.com.pk/cdpc/Climate/Quetta_Climate_Data.txt |title=Mean FOR THE PERIOD 1961 – 2009 |publisher=Climate Data Processing Centre (CDPC), Pakistan Meteorological Department |location=Karachi |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613053237/http://www.pakmet.com.pk/cdpc/Climate/Quetta_Climate_Data.txt }} Autumn starts in mid-September and continues until mid-November with average temperatures in the {{convert|12|–|18|C|F}} range. Winter starts in late November and ends in late February with average temperatures near {{convert|4|–|5|C|F}}. The lowest temperature in Quetta is {{convert|-18.3|C|F}} which was recorded on 8 January 1970. Spring starts in early March and ends in mid-May with average temperatures close to {{convert|15|°C|°F|abbr=on}}. Unlike more easterly parts of Pakistan, Quetta does not have a monsoon season of heavy rainfall. Highest rainfall during 24 hours in Quetta is {{convert|113|mm|in}} which was recorded on 17 December 2000, Highest monthly rainfall of {{convert|232.4|mm|in}} was recorded in March 1982 which was also the year of the highest annual rainfall, {{convert|949.8|mm|in}}. In the winter, snowfall has become quite erratic (December, January and February).

{{Quetta weatherbox}}

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, it received a snowfall of {{convert|10|cm|in|0}} in four hours on 29 January,{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104081930/http://www.dawn.com/2008/01/29/nat4.htm |archive-date=4 January 2009 |url-status=live |url=http://www.dawn.com/2008/01/29/nat4.htm |title=Cold wave intensifies with heavy snowfall |date=29 January 2008 |website=Dawn }} followed on 2 February by {{convert|25.4|cm|in|0}} in 10 hours{{cite web |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C02%5C04%5Cstory_4-2-2008_pg7_22 |title=Leading News Resource of Pakistan |work=Daily Times |date=4 February 2008 |access-date=8 May 2012 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119011506/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C02%5C04%5Cstory_4-2-2008_pg7_22 |url-status=live }} – 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.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

{{Historical populations

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|source = {{cite book |last1=Elahi |first1=Asad |year=2006 |chapter=2: Population |chapter-url=http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/other/pocket_book2006/2.pdf |title=Pakistan Statistical Pocket Book 2006 |url=http://www.pbs.gov.pk/content/pakistan-statistical-pocket-book-2006 |publisher=Government of Pakistan: Statistics Division |place=Islamabad, Pakistan |publication-date=2006 |page=28 |access-date=29 March 2018 |archive-date=30 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330211332/http://www.pbs.gov.pk/content/pakistan-statistical-pocket-book-2006 |url-status=dead }}

|1941 |65000

|1951 |84000

|1961 |107000

|1972 |158000

|1981 |286000

|1998 |565137

|2017 |1001205

|2023|1,565,546}}

According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan, the population of the city was a total of 1,565,546.{{Cite web |title=Pakistan: Provinces and Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/cities/ |access-date=31 August 2024 |website=www.citypopulation.de |archive-date=28 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028210633/https://www.citypopulation.de/Pakistan-100T.html |url-status=live }} This makes it the largest city in Balochistan province and one of the major cities of Pakistan. Quetta is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country.{{cite book |author=Abubakar Siddique |title=The Pashtun Question: The Unresolved Key to the Future of Pakistan and Afghanistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PkVeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA22 |year=2014 |publisher=Hurst |isbn=978-1-84904-292-5 |page=22 }} The city has a Pashtun plurality followed by Balochs, Hazaras, Brahui, Punjabis and Muhajir people.{{Cite book |last=Bianchi |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6dzQCwAAQBAJ |title=Guests of God: Pilgrimage and Politics in the Islamic World |date=25 March 2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-971183-3 |page=92 |language=en |quote=The largest communities are Pashtuns, Punjabis, and muhajirs, but no group is a majority. Quetta is one of the few districts in all Pakistan where no linguistic group can claim dominance, either numerically or politically. Aside from occasional clashes with Shi‘ite protesters encouraged by proximity to Iran, Quetta seems like a model of tolerance compared with the carnage ravaging the much larger melting pot of Karachi. |archive-date=19 February 2025 |access-date=28 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219204702/https://books.google.com/books?id=6dzQCwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}{{sfn|Jonah Blank|Christopher Clary|Brian Nichiporuk|2014}}{{cite book |author=Sarina Singh |title=Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zn8I4qEew9oC&pg=PA142 |year=2008 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-74104-542-0 |page=142 }}{{Cite book |last1=Fair |first1=C. Christine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FW4Cx75_7usC&dq=Quetta+punjabis+pashtuns&pg=PA12 |title=Pakistan: Can the United States Secure an Insecure State? |last2=Crane |first2=Keith |last3=Chivvis |first3=Christopher S. |last4=Puri |first4=Samir |last5=Spirtas |first5=Michael |date=13 April 2010 |publisher=Rand Corporation |isbn=978-0-8330-4870-7 |pages=12 |language=en |archive-date=19 February 2025 |access-date=28 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219204634/https://books.google.com/books?id=FW4Cx75_7usC&dq=Quetta+punjabis+pashtuns&pg=PA12 |url-status=live }} Urdu being the national language is used and understood by all the residents and serves as a lingua franca.

According to Reuters and the BBC, there are as many as 500,000-600,000 Hazaras living in Quetta and its surrounding areas.{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-shooting/two-killed-in-sectarian-attack-in-southwestern-pakistan-idUSKBN1HT0N2 |title=Two killed in sectarian attack in southwestern Pakistan |work=Reuters |date=22 April 2018 |archive-date=22 April 2018 |access-date=22 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422170948/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-shooting/two-killed-in-sectarian-attack-in-southwestern-pakistan-idUSKBN1HT0N2 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42219669 |title=The community caged in its own city |work=BBC News |date=12 December 2017 |last1=Kermani |first1=Secunder |author-link1=Secunder Kermani |archive-date=26 July 2018 |access-date=21 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726200108/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42219669 |url-status=live }}

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.{{Cite web |url=https://qda.gob.pk/index.php/about-us/about-qda |title=About QDA – Quetta Development Authority |access-date=12 April 2021 |archive-date=12 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412133333/https://qda.gob.pk/index.php/about-us/about-qda |url-status=live }}

File:Engine at Quetta Railway Station.jpg

File:Quetta Railway Station - 40311.jpg was built during the British Raj]]

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 centre.

At an altitude of {{convert|1605|m|ft|abbr=off}} above sea level, Quetta International Airport is the second-highest airport in Pakistan.[http://www.caapakistan.com.pk/quetta.aspx Quetta Airport] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629224734/http://www.caapakistan.com.pk/quetta.aspx |date=29 June 2009 }} CAA Pakistan. Retrieved 24 June 2009 Pakistan International Airlines has regular flights to and from the other major cities of Pakistan including Islamabad, Gwadar, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.

Quetta Railway Station is one of the highest railway stations in Pakistan at {{convert|1676|m|ft|abbr=off}} 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 {{convert|863|km|mi|abbr=on}} track, Lahore in the northeast (1,170 km or 727 miles) and Peshawar 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 in the plain of the River Indus.{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/bomb-attack-targets-worshipers-quetta-mosque-killing-14-200110153518661.html |title=Bomb attack targets Worshippers at Quetta mosque, killing 14 |website=www.aljazeera.com |access-date=12 January 2020 |archive-date=14 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214213529/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/bomb-attack-targets-worshipers-quetta-mosque-killing-14-200110153518661.html |url-status=live }}

Quetta serves as the learning centre for the Balochistan province. The city has a number of government and private colleges, including the following:

• Balochistan Agriculture College
• Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS)
• Bolan Medical College
• Islamia High School, Quetta; frequently visited by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1937, and was nicknamed as Chhota Aligarh (Little Aligarh) by him.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
• Pakistan Command and Staff College
• Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University
• St Francis Grammar School
• St. Joseph's Convent School, Quetta
• Government Science College, Quetta
• Tameer-e-Nau Public College
• University Law College, Quetta
• University of Balochistan

File:Qayyum Changezi.jpg is named after Pakistan national football team captain Qayyum Changezi, hailing from Quetta]]

Football is the most popular sport among the people of Quetta.{{Cite web |last=Raheel |first=Natasha |date=5 December 2021 |title=Football, Balochistan and hope |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2332579/football-balochistan-and-hope |access-date=11 May 2024 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en }}{{Cite web |last=Wasim |first=Umaid |date=26 November 2021 |title=Balochistan's boundless passion for football has nowhere to go but an event is keeping the flame alive |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1660239 |access-date=30 May 2024 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en |archive-date=12 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112010809/https://www.dawn.com/news/1660239 |url-status=live }} The city has produced notable footballers for the Pakistan national football team including Abdul Wahid Durrani, Qayyum Changezi, Ayub Dar, Mohammad Ali, and Rajab Ali Hazara.{{Cite web |last=InpaperMagazine |first=From |date=13 January 2013 |title=In-depth: Pakistan football |url=https://www.dawn.com/2013/01/13/in-depth-pakistan-football/ |access-date=5 May 2024 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en |archive-date=25 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525043530/http://dawn.com/2013/01/13/in-depth-pakistan-football/ |url-status=live }} Main football clubs from Quetta include Baloch Quetta. Balochistan United WFC won the 2014 National Women Championship. The major football ground is Ayub National Stadium, a multipurpose stadium also used for athletics. Other football grounds include Qayyum Papa Stadium and Sadiq Shaheed Stadium.

File:Bugti stadium Quetta.jpg, home of Quetta Gladiators|left]]

Bugti Stadium is the home of Balochistan cricket team, a first-class cricket team which competes in domestic tournaments,{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27504448/pcb-unveils-new-domestic-set-stay-top-mantra |title=PCB unveils new domestic set-up with 'stay at the top' mantra |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=26 January 2021 |archive-date=31 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831140727/https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27504448/pcb-unveils-new-domestic-set-stay-top-mantra |url-status=live }} and the Quetta-based team Quetta Gladiators compete in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). They were the champion of the PSL 2019.

Boxing is highly popular as well.{{cite web |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/lede/the-hazaras-who-made-quetta-boxing-powerhouse |title=The Hazaras who made Quetta a boxing powerhouse |last=Faruqi |first=Sama |website=The Caravan |access-date=7 December 2019 |archive-date=7 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207132800/https://caravanmagazine.in/lede/the-hazaras-who-made-quetta-boxing-powerhouse |url-status=live }} 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.

Local facilities were created in the city for mountain climbing and caving as well as water sports. Hayatullah Khan Durrani (Pride of Performance) 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.

{{Main|List of twin towns and sister cities in Pakistan}}

File:Quetta Infantry School.png|Junior officers in a tactical discussion at the Infantry School, Quetta

File:Hanna Lake Quetta P1140271.jpg|Hanna Lake

File:Askrri park quetta - panoramio.jpg|Askari Park

File:Jinnah Road, Quetta.JPG|Jinnah Road

File:Quetta1880---.JPG|Quetta in 1880

• 2008 Ziarat earthquake
• Balochi cuisine
• Governor's House, Quetta
• List of people from Quetta
• Quetta hut
• Quetta Memorial Precinct
• RMS Quetta

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{EI2|last=Bosworth|first=C.E.|title=Kwat́́t́́a|volume=5 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/kwatta-SIM_4599?s.num=8&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&s.q=brahui }}
• {{citation |author1=Jonah Blank |author2=Christopher Clary |author3=Brian Nichiporuk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jeE9BgAAQBAJ |title=Drivers of Long-Term insecurity and Instability in Pakistan: Urbanization |date=30 October 2014 |publisher=Rand Corporation |isbn=978-0-83-308751-5 |page=29 }}

{{Commons category|Quetta}}

• [http://www.quettaresults.com/matric-results/balochistan-board/ Balochistan Board] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122131259/http://www.quettaresults.com/matric-results/balochistan-board/ |date=22 January 2015 }}
• {{Official website|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20101018000923/http://www.balochistan.gov.pk:80/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=801&Itemid=1087|name=Official webpage on Balochistan.gov.pk}} (archived 18 October 2010)

{{Quetta}}

{{Neighbourhoods of Quetta}}

{{Pakistani cities}}

{{Districts of Balochistan (Pakistan)}}

{{Most populous cities of Balochistan, Pakistan}}

{{Authority control}}

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Category:Capitals of Pakistan

Category:Populated places destroyed by earthquakes

Category:Populated places in Balochistan, Pakistan

Category:Metropolitan areas of Pakistan