Quetta (کو ئٹہ)

Quetta (کو ئٹہ) (The word derives from Kwatta, fort in Pushtu) no doubt is a natural fort, surrounded as it is by imposing hills on all sides

. The encircling hills have the resounding names of Chiltan, Takatoo, Mordar and Zarghun.
Quetta was first mentioned in the 11th century when it was captured by Mahmood of Ghazni on one of his invasions of the subcontinent.

In 1543 the Mughal emperor Humayun rested here on his retreat to Persia, leaving his one-year-old son Akbar until he returned two years later. The Mughal ruled Quetta until 1556, when it was taken by the Persians, only to be retaken by Akbar in

1595.

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

The Roman Catholoc Church, Quetta, 1900

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.