Zhob district: from Fort Sandeman to Zhob

Introduction and location

Zhob district lies in the north-eastern corner of Balochistan, where the province borders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan. It is the headquarters of Zhob Division. The town of the same name, once called Fort Sandeman, is its administrative centre. The district takes its name from the river that flows through the middle of its valley towards the Indus plain in the north-east.

According to the 2023 census, Zhob district has a population of 355,692. Of these, 46,976 people live in urban areas and 308,716 in rural areas. The district covers 15,987 square kilometres and has a population density of about 22 people per square kilometre. It is a vast but sparsely populated area. According to the Government of Balochistan’s website, Zhob Division includes the districts of Killa Saifullah and Sherani as well as Zhob, and each district has its own deputy commissioner.

On 8 July 2026, the Revenue Department of the Government of Balochistan issued a notification dividing the province into 11 divisions and 41 districts. According to press reports, the notification created a new sub-division named Margha Kibzai in Zhob district, while Mani Khwa in Sherani district was given the status of a sub-division. The final composition of Zhob Division after this change remains to be confirmed from the text of the official notification.

History

The Zhob valley has been inhabited since very ancient times. Sir Aurel Stein, the archaeologist of the British era, carried out an archaeological survey of northern Balochistan in 1926 and 1927. He recorded several mounds, including Periano Ghundai, near Zhob town. His report was published in 1929. The British scholar Stuart Piggott later called these ancient settlements of northern Balochistan the “Zhob cultures” in his book “Prehistoric India”, because the Zhob river passes through all of them. According to Oxford Reference, this culture belongs to the Copper Age of the fourth and third millennia BC. Periano Ghundai and Mughal Ghundai are its representative sites. It is identified by a distinctive type of clay female figurines found there.

The area came under British administration in the late nineteenth century. The town of Zhob was named Fort Sandeman after the British officer Robert Sandeman. The 1908 Imperial Gazetteer lists it as a sub-division, tehsil and town of Zhob district. According to the preface of the Zhob volume of the Baluchistan District Gazetteer Series, published in 1907 and dated December 1906, the district then consisted of three tehsils, because two tehsils had been transferred to the new Loralai district in 1903.

After the creation of Pakistan, the name remained in use for several decades. According to secondary sources, Fort Sandeman was renamed Zhob in 1976. The official date of this change and the notification are yet to be confirmed. The Sherani area, which was a sub-division of Zhob, was later made a separate district. The available sources give the year as 2006. In 2021, the Government of Balochistan split Zhob Division to create Loralai Division, leaving Zhob, Killa Saifullah and Sherani in Zhob Division.

People and languages

The great majority of Zhob’s population speaks Pashto. According to the 2017 census figures recorded in the SMEDA district report, 96.03 per cent of people in the district had Pashto as their mother tongue and 1.71 per cent had Saraiki. The district entry in the 2023 census mother-tongue table could not be obtained when this draft was prepared, so the 2017 figures are given here.

According to the 2023 census, about 87 per cent of the district’s population lives in rural areas, where life depends on land and livestock. The urban population is concentrated mainly in Zhob town, which is the administrative, educational and commercial centre of the division.

Economy

According to the SMEDA district report of September 2022, Zhob’s income depends mainly on agriculture and livestock, and horticulture is an important sector. The same report says the Agricultural Development Bank is the only bank in the district that gives agricultural loans.

The 2011 district development profile lists almonds, apples, apricots, grapes, peaches, plums, pears and pomegranates among Zhob’s main fruits. According to a review by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, wheat, apples, almonds and apricots are the district’s major crops. Apple orchards cover about 6,499 hectares, the largest share of the cultivated area. These figures are old and the present situation may differ.

In the minerals sector, mining permits have been issued in Zhob district for coal, chromite and granite, and traces of copper are also present. According to the 2011 profile, however, investment in the sector was almost nil. Much of Zhob’s economy is thus still tied to orchards, wheat and livestock.

Places of interest

Sandeman Fort: This British-era fort in Zhob town, after which the whole town was called Fort Sandeman, is the most prominent historic building in the district. Although the town was renamed in 1976, the fort is still known by the same name.

Periano Ghundai: This ancient mound lies about three kilometres west of Zhob town. It was recorded by Sir Aurel Stein. The clay figurines and vessels found here became the identity of the Zhob culture. The site still draws the attention of archaeologists.

Zhob river: The river waters the district’s valley as it flows towards the Indus plain. In Piggott’s words, it is the axis of the ancient settlements of northern Balochistan. The orchards along its banks are the basis of Zhob’s farming life.