NUSHKI

Nushki District is one of the districts of Balochistan province, Pakistan. The administration of the Nushki district was taken over from the Khan of Kalat by the Indian government in 1896, and was leased from him on a perpetual quit rent in 1899.
The district is located in the north of Balochistan, sharing its boundaries in the east with Quetta and Chaghai District in the west. Kharan and Kalat Districts are on the south and Afghanistan in the north. The district headquarter is in “Nushki” town; it lies in south-west of Quetta, and is situated on a plain at the base of Quetta Plateau, 2,900 feet above Mean Sea Level.

Eastern and southern parts of the district comprise of hilly areas while rest of the district area is a plain. The terrain elevation varies between 807-2,064meters above Mean Sea Level.

From Nushki, the flat Balochistan desert stretches to north and westwards toward the Helmand River. In 1902, a railway of 150kilometer was sanctioned from Quetta to Nushki, it was completed in 1905. This railway made Nushki the starting-point of the caravan route to Seistan. From the strategic point of view a force operating from Nushki would flank any advance from the north to Kandhar, and would also guard the southwest approach to Quetta.

Nushki district is a part of Quetta zone. It is 145 km away from Quetta. It is situated in the west side of Quetta district. It was separated from Chaghi in April 2004.


Nushki was a starting off point for the British exploration of Central Asia. The British, concerned that their colonies in India would be attacked overland by either Napoleon or the Russians, sent two British officers, Captain Charles Christie and Lieutenant Henry Pottinger, to explore the regions between Balochistan and Persia, which was then allied with the British.
Christie and Pottinger traveled from the coast to Kelat (now Kalat) and separated at Nushki on March 22, 1810, with Christie going northwest to Herat and Pottinger traveling west across the deserts. It was unlikely that either of the two men would be accepted by the locals, and they concealed their identities by posing as horse-traders or holy men during their respective journeys. They were reunited in Isfahan on June 30, 1810, with Christie haven ridden 2,250 miles and Pottinger having ridden 2,412 miles.

Baluchistan was invaded by the English in 1839. On 13 November 1839, The Khan or King of Baluchistan, Mehrab Khan martyred by the English occupier army at Kalat, capital of Baluchistan. The town lies 90 miles southwest of Shal also known as Quetta, and is situated in a plain at the base of the Quetta plateau, 2,900 ft (880 m) above sea level. Population is over 50,000. From this point the flat Balochistan desert stretches away northwards and westwards to the Helmund river.

The administration of the Nushki district was taken over from the Khan of Kalat by the English government in 1896.

In 1902 a railway of 91 miles (146 km) was sanctioned from Quetta to Nushki, for military purpose,which was completed in 1905. This railway makes Nushki the starting-point of the caravan route to Seistan (the border region of East Iran).