Quetta

Quetta ('kwɛtə; ; ˈkweːʈə; کوټه‎; کویٹہ ، شال) is a city situated in the Baluchistan province of Pakistan. It is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is the capital of the province of Balochistan, where it is the largest city. Quetta is at an average elevation of above sea level, making it Pakistan's only high-altitude major city. The city is known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the numerous fruit orchards in and around it and the large variety of fruits and dried fruits produced there. Located in the northern Balochistan near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and the road across to Kandahar, Quetta is a trade and communication centre between the two countries. The city is near the Bolan Pass which was on a major gateway from Central Asia to South Asia. Quetta played an important military role for the Pakistani Armed Forces in the intermittent Afghanistan conflict. It is currently home to 500,000 undocumented Afghan refugees. The name Quetta is a variation of the Pashto word Kwatkōṭ, or kōta meaning "fortress". Quetta was formerly known as Shalkot (ښالکوټ; شال کوٹ), History of Quetta The immediate area has long been one of pastures and mountains with varied plants and animals relative to the dry plains to the west. From 11th century, the land of Quetta was owned and ruled by the Kasi Pashtun tribe. It was captured by Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi during his invasion of South Asia. In 1543, Mughal emperor Humayun came to Quetta en route to Safavid Persia, leaving his son and future Mughal emperor Akbar here. In 1709, the region was a part of Afghan Hotak dynasty and stayed a part until 1747 when Ahmed Shah Durrani conquered it and made it a part of Durrani Empire. The first European visited Quetta in 1828, describing it as mud-walled fort surrounded by three hundred mud houses. In 1876, Quetta was occupied by the British and subsequently incorporated into British India. In 1856, British General John Jacob had urged his government to occupy Quetta given its strategic position on the western frontier.