Sights and Sounds of Pakistan: Zhob Part-1

Sights and Sounds of Pakistan: Zhob Part-1

Located some 320 kilometers from Quetta in Baluchistan is the small town of Zhob which was once a strategic dwelling in the times of British in the late 19th century for its closeness to Afghanistan.

The town lies on an open plain just east of the Zhob River. Before the British came to the area, the place was known as Apozai, a name which is still used by the locals. 

The town was found by Robert Groves Sandeman, who was a Colonial British Indian officer and administrator, and renamed it Fort Sandeman in 1889 ( Sandeman was the governor-general in Baluchistan since 1877 till his death in 1892 at Bela,
the capital of Las Bela state, and there he lies buried under a handsome tomb).

In 1889 the Zhob Valley and Gomal Pass were taken under the control of the British Government. The Zhob Valley was the scene of number of British expeditions in 1884 and 1890. In 1890 Zhob was formed into a district or political agency, with its headquarters
at Fort Sandeman.

In 1890 the district of Zhob was formed with Fort Sandeman, as the capital. The population according to the 1901 census of India was 3,552, the garrison included a Native cavalry and a Native infantry regiment and was also the headquarters of the Zhob Levy
Corps.

In 1894 a supply of water from the Saliaza valley was established – which allowed irrigation and planting of fruits and trees as well as drinking water. Being a tribal area, the major tribes of Zhob include Madokhail, Kakar, Babar, Lawoon and Nasa.

The present day name of the town takes its relation to the Zhob River and the Zhob valley running from the hills near Ziarat first eastward and then northward parallel to the Indus frontier, till it meets the Gomal river at Khajuri Kach.

That is why the for the British it was a strategic line of great importance, as being the shortest route between the North-West Frontier Province and Quetta, and dominates all the Pathan tribes of Baluchistan by cutting between them and Afghanistan. 

to be continued…

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=22455

Posted by Naveed A Bari on May 16 2012. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry