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History, culture and much more
Recollecting the first-hand impressions of Balochistan 17 years after the visit
By Awais Manzur Sumra
I have visited Balochistan a number of times; mainly making short trips to Quetta.
However, on two occasions, in early 1994 and again 12 months later, I had the chance to travel through the beautiful and largely unknown, misunderstood province of Balochistan — to the treeless plains of Sibbi to the apple orchards in Kalat to the moon-like landscape of Dalbandin to the sprawling date farms near Turbat to the snow-topped, juniper-covered hills of Ziarat to the virgin territory of Gwadar. Together, colleagues, friends and I, we enjoyed the Baloch hospitality, its breathtaking scenery and its rich culture and history. These visits enabled me to experience first-hand the daily struggles of the local people as well as their hopes and aspirations.
Balochistan left an indelible mark on my memory.
The pristine beauty of Balochistan is best encapsulated by the peculiarly named Pir Ghaib. It was reached by travelling 10 kilometres on a jeepable track that veered left from the road connecting Sibbi and Quetta somewhere in the middle of the Bolan Pass. Surrounded by lofty mountains and huge boulders, lay Pir Ghaib where a breathtaking waterfall and a crystal clear pond with date trees lining the periphery added to the serenity of the place.
According to local folklore, the idyllic place is named after a saint who used to meditate at the spot till he disappeared suddenly one fine day.
Balochistan’s wealth of history surprised me. My first encounter with history came at the Sibbi mela — or horse and cattle show — and a visit to the museum showcasing an impressive collection of photographs on the Quaid-e-Azam’s life.
Quaid had visited Sibbi in February 1948 on the occasion of Sibbi Darbar and addressed the Shahi Jirga at the Jirga Hall. He spent some of his last days at the famous Residency which is set on snow-covered slopes amid dwindling juniper forests.
But history goes much further back. Not far from Sibbi is Mehrgarh where remains of a civilisation estimated to date back to 7,000 B.C. spread over a wide area. The uncovered remains are said to provide conclusive evidence of crop cultivation, animal husbandry and human settlements. French experts, working at the site at the time, believed that Moenjodaro rose only after Mehrgarh had become history.
A week in a chilly Kalat, with day time temperatures rising to an average high of -10 degrees centigrade, allowed sufficient time to visit the palace of the Khan of Kalat. Shaped like a ship, the palace is an impressive storehouse of fine china, carpets and furniture dating back to the glory days of the state.
Just outside the town of Kalat was the huge mound of Qila Miri which afforded a bird’s eye view of the numerous sprawling apple orchards with the RCD highway snaking its way past low hills towards Khuzdar. Qila Miri is said to have been the original, seven-storey-high palace of the Khan of Kalat that was probably destroyed in the 1935 earthquake.
The view from the castle of Punnon — the hero of the folk tale Sassi Punnon — in the outskirts of Turbat was not dissimilar to that afforded by Qila Miri. It was just that the apple orchards were replaced by the extensive date farms that stretched out towards the Central Mekran Range. Two or three crumbling mud-and-brick walls were all that remained of the castle.
Balochistan also turned out to be a place for adventure. It afforded the opportunity of a five-hour journey on a dusty and bumpy track aboard a Toyota Hilux through the wilderness of Mekran from Turbat to Gwadar as well as a seafood lunch aboard a ferry that skirted the Mekran coast with excited dolphins in tow. There was also the hair-raising road journey past myriad coal mines deep in the depths of the Bolan Pass and the sudden confrontation with icy winds on the top of the Lak Pass, separating Quetta and Mastung, as we waited for the road to be cleared of an overturned truck.
With a vast, empty area and low population density, Balochistan’s problems have their own peculiar nature requiring peculiar solutions. Some of the infrastructure was encouraging. The Pat Feeder Canal seemed to be making some difference in the areas surrounding Naseerabad while the Akra Kaur Dam north of Gwadar was expected to solve the town’s one major problem — lack of water. At the extensive farms of Turbat research was being conducted on dates.
But poverty was so obvious. A natural reservoir of rain water close to Dhadar served as the source of drinking water for humans and animals alike while facilities at the health units in Kalat and at educational institutions close to Sibbi were not even basic.
It has been 17 years since my last visit to the province. A lot would have changed surely. But I do hope that Pir Ghaib remains the same idyllic spot, dolphins still visit the shores of the enchanting Gwadar, visitors still throng the Ziarat Residency and the apple orchards of Kalat and coal mines of Bolan Pass still contribute to the local and national economy.
We must treasure Balochistan.