Geography of Baluchistan
Baluchistan,a mountainous region in Asia at the head of the Arabian Sea. It forms the province of Baluchistan in western Pakistan and part of the province of Baluchistan and Sisten in eastern Iran, and extends into southern Afghanistan. The region consists of a barren plateau surrounded by mountains. It is sparsely populated. Its only large city is Quetta, Pakistan, with a population of 285,000.
The people of Baluchistan are mainly pastoral nomads, who tend herds of sheep, goats, and camels. They make Baluchi rugs, a type of Oriental rug, and traditionally control the mountain passes and operate as smugglers. The more numerous tribes are Baluchis, who speak an Iranian language. A smaller group, the Brahuis, speak a Dravidian tongue. Both groups are Muslim.
In the fourth century B.C., Baluchistan was conquered by Alexander the Great. Later, it became part of an Indian empire, and was then largely ignored for more than 1,000 years. It was held by the Mogul Empire during part of the 1600's, and in the 1700's fell under the control of Persia (Iran) and Afghanistan. The British occupied the southeastern area during a war with the Afghans, 1839-42, and in 1887 annexed it to India. It became part of Pakistan in 1947. In the early 1970's, nationalist unrest among the Baluchis became a source of concern in Iran and Pakistan.