Kalāt

Kalāt, town, Balochistān province, Pakistan. The town, known locally as Kalāt-e Baluch to distinguish it from Kalāt-e Ghilzai (Qalāt-e Ghelzāʾī) in Afghanistan, and Kalāt-e Sewa after its legendary founder, occupies a spur of the Shas-i Mardan Hill at the western end of Kalāt valley. A small retail-market centre, it is connected by roads with Quetta, Pasni, and Karāchi. The old town, within the Mīrī (citadel), containing the palace of the khans of Kalāt, was partially destroyed by a 1935 earthquake. It was then moved to its present site.

Captured by the Mirwārīs in the 15th century, it remained the capital of the Mirwārī Aḥmadzai khans (originally from Oman in southeast Arabia) until British occupation in 1839. With the arrival of a British political agent, possession was returned in 1842 to the khan. The region became part of Pakistan in 1948.

Situated in a mostly mountainous area, Kalāt has moderate summers and cold snowy winters; precipitation is adequate. Wheat, barley, melons, jowār (sorghum), and various fruits are grown in the region. Minerals worked include coal (near Spezand), iron ore, and sulfur. Pile carpets, embroidery, leather goods, and palm bags and mats are local products. Population is sparse, the Brahui and Baloch peoples being the predominant ethnic groups. Pop. (1998) 22,559.