Ziarat (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and ) is a city in the Ziarat District of 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 in Pakistan. It lies away 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 ...

, the provincial capital of Balochistan. Previously, it was part of

Sibi Sibi (; ;) is a city situated in the Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan Subdivisions of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. The city serves as the administrative headquarters of the Sibi District, district and Sibi Tehsil, tehsil of the same name ...

district. It was announced as a separated district on 1st of July, 1986. The

Quaid-e-Azam Residency Quaid-e-Azam Residency (), also known as Ziarat Residency, is located in Ziarat, Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan, Pakistan. It is where Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah spent the penultimate month of his life, nursed by A. ...

is located in this valley, where Quaid-e-Azam (the founder of Pakistan) spent some of his last days.

History

On 29 October 2008, at around 4 am, Ziarat and surrounding areas were struck by an earthquake doublet. The first tremor, 6.2 magnitude, lasted a couple of seconds, and was followed by a magnitude-6.4 tremor that lasted almost 30 seconds, destroying many mud houses and several government buildings. Neighbouring villages were also badly affected by the earthquake. More than 200 people were killed, and over 50,000 were left homeless.

Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

s cut off many roads, making the area less accessible to emergency responders. Pakistani military helicopters were used to reach mountainous and remote locations.

Geography

Ziarat is surrounded by the lush green Ziarat Juniper Forest, known locally as Sanober, home to the largest area of Juniper forest (''

Juniperus seravschanica ''Juniperus seravschanica'' is a species of juniper. Common names include Pashtun juniper ( ''ōbəx̌ta'', " specieswhich sucks water"; Pashto: پښتني صنوبر). It ranges from southernmost Kazakhstan through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, e ...

'') in Pakistan, covering about 110,000 hectares. The juniper trees of Ziarat are one of the oldest trees of their kind with some of these trees being 4000 years old. It is believed that the forest is the second largest of its kind in the world. The indigenous tribes are primarily

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 ...

, and Tareen (including Raisani).

Climate

Ziarat has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

(Koppen: ''Dsa)'' and remains quite cool in summer compared to other cities in Pakistan.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan, Ziarat had a population of 3,863.

References

{{Protected areas of Pakistan Ziarat District Populated places in Balochistan, Pakistan