Quetta

Quetta (kwĕ`tə), city (1998 pop. 560,307), capital of Baluchistan prov., W central Pakistan, at an altitude of c.5,500 ft (1,675 m), ringed by mountains. Deriving its name from the Pashto word kawkot [fort], it commands the entrance through the strategic Bolan Pass into Afghanistan and is a trade center for Afghanistan, Iran, and much of central Asia. The city's cottage industries produce textiles, foodstuffs, and carpets.

The city was occupied (1876) by the British following the Second Afghan War, and it gained prominence as the seat of British resident Sir Robert Sandeman. It became a strongly garrisoned British military station. Much of the present city was rebuilt after a disastrous earthquake in 1935. Quetta has a military staff college (est. 1907) and a geophysical observatory. Like many major Pakistani border cities, Quetta was a magnet for some of the millions of Afghan refugees who fled after the 1979 Soviet invasion; the refugees who remain have swelled the local population to an estimated 2 million people. As a result of war and ongoing fighting in Afghanistan, Quetta has become a center for arms and drug smuggling and a base for ousted Taliban leaders.

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Quetta

a city in W central Pakistan, at an altitude of 1650 m (5500 ft.): a summer resort, military station, and trading centre. Pop.: 744 000 (2005 est.)

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Quetta 

a historical-cultural region in Northern Baluchistan (in modern Pakistan), where archaeological remains of different epochs have been discovered. Aeneolithic and Bronze Age farming cultures have become well known. Numerous excavations have made it possible to trace the steady development of the local culture.

The most ancient settlements date from the late fifth millennium and from the fourth millennium B.C. and are noted for flint tools, modeled pottery, and pisé structures. The presence of bones of sheep, goats, and bulls attests to the domestication of animals. The third and second millennia B.C. saw the appearance of pottery made on the potter’s wheel, terra-cotta figurines, and copper objects. The population engaged primarily in farming and stock raising. Links with the cultures of Iran, Southern Baluchistan, India, and Middle Asia can be traced.

REFERENCES

Masson, V. M. Sredniaia Aziia i Drevnii Vostok. Moscow-Leningrad, 1964.
Fairservis, W. A. Excavations in the Quetta Valley, West Pakistan. New York, 1956.

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Quetta 

a city in Pakistan, the administrative center of Baluchistan Province. Population, 130,000 (1969). Quetta has a railroad station and is an important trade and transportation center near the Bolan Pass. Food and chemical industries and repair shops are there. After a destructive earthquake in 1935, the city had to be almost completely rebuilt.