Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: November 16, 2020 | 
| 中文
Pishin Valley
When Hwen Thsang, a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator traveled to India in the seventh century, he mentioned a district on the western frontier of Falana, today’s Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, named Ki-kiang-na. Some historical accounts believe that this Ki-kiang-na is today’s Pishin – a 7,819 square kilometer district of Balochistan. Pishin is often overlooked when talking about historically important cities in the province. Nevertheless, the town has had considerable importance in the past and present developments of Balochistan. Tourists are often taken aback by the diverse climate, and tight-knit local community of this town.
Hwen Thsang described Ki-kiang-na as a hamlet situated in a valley under a high mountain. According to some records of Arab historians, Pishin was a town that connected Multan to Kabul. Even today, an important route that connects Quetta to Afghanistan, passes through the Pishin district. The name ‘Pishin’ is a modernized form of ‘Pushang’, which is how the city was designated in Persian sources, while the Arabic sources refer to it as 'Fushang'. Legend has it that the name is attributed to a son of the mythical Emperor of Turan, Afrasiab.
The Railway Network Constructed at Pishin
In 1839, the British occupied Pishin for the first time and then re-occupied it in 1875, making it a military and civil station due to its strategic importance. In April 1883, it was included in the administrative unit of Quetta, under a Political Agent. After Pakistan came into being, Pishin was still a part of the district of Quetta until 1975. The town was further divided in 1993-94, and part of it was split off to form a new district, Qilla Abdullah.
Today, Pishin is a cluster of small communities nestling along the highway north of Quetta. A major road and railway passing through Pishin connects Quetta with Chaman, a commercial town near the Afghanistan border. The railway runs through the 3.9-kilometer-long Khojak tunnel, which was earlier in the Pishin district, and is now under the jurisdiction of Qilla Abdullah. Currently, the population of Pishin district was estimated to be over 700,000 according to the 2017 census, with more than 127,000 households. But in reality, there may be more, since a sizable population of Afghan refugees are also settled in the district.
About 4,500 to 5,500 feet above sea level, the district of Pishin comprises of a series of long valleys enclosed by the Toba Kakar Range to the North. Like most towns with nomadic histories that lie on trade routes, Pishin’s mainstay of the economy is trade and transport. The main crops in the area are wheat, barley, corn, potatoes, grapes, apples, apricots, and peaches. But of late, fruit orchards and vegetables have seen a decline due to scarcity of water and a depleting water table.
The Lora River
The Pishin Lora River that begins in the region and eventually flows to Afghanistan, is formed by the melting snows in spring, and its tributaries still irrigate some parts of the region. While coal is mined in the mountains, sheep and goats are still widely herded on the hilly landscape. Their wool becomes carpets and sheepskin coats, to be locally sold. Landhi, which is a distinct method of curing a whole sheep or lamb meat, is a local specialty. The beautiful lake Band Khushdil Khan is also in Pishin where a game reserve has also been established.
A majority of the population speaks Pushto and belongs to either the Kakar, Tarin, Syed or Achakzai tribes. In fact, Pishin is the largest district of Pashtun tribes in the region. Despite its remoteness, the town has produced some prominent personalities in Pakistan’s history, such as Qazi Muhammad Essa who was a very close companion of Qaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. But many people do not know that the famous Indian comedian and actor Kader Khan, belonged to Pishin. Pakistan’s famed daredevil motorcycle stuntman, Sultan Golden also hailed from Pishin.
Prominent Pakistani diplomat and former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, Jehangir Ashraf Qazi also traces his roots to Pishin. He is the son of Qazi Mohammad Musa and his Irish wife Jennifer Musa, who made Pishin her home after marriage. Jennifer Musa was wholeheartedly embraced by the locals. She was known and respected as ‘Mummy Jennifer’, as an ode to her philanthropic work, particularly focusing on education of girls. She went on to be the first female member of the Parliament from the province, and was elected unopposed from her constituency.
The Rest House Grounds and A British-era Rest House in Pishin
Nilofar Qazi, granddaughter of Mummy Jennifer, is a food anthropologist, and a documentary filmmaker. Reflecting on her grandmother’s legacy, she remarked, “Her sense of correctness is what the people of Pishin identified with the most. She understood their struggles and they appreciated that. She was widely known as “the Queen of Balochistan”, and the poor peasants and the tribal chieftains respected her alike.”
The ruggedness of Pishin’s terrain is both alluring and daunting at the same time, reflecting beautifully in an old war ballad from the region, “Mountains are our forts; the peaks are better than any army; the lofty heights are our comrades; the pathless gorges our friends; our drink is from the flowing springs; our bed the thorny bush; and, the ground we make our pillow.”
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