Turbat

تُربت
City
Turbat

تُربت
Coordinates: 26°0′15″N 63°3′38″E / 26.00417°N 63.06056°E / 26.00417; 63.06056Coordinates: 26°0′15″N 63°3′38″E / 26.00417°N 63.06056°E / 26.00417; 63.06056
Country	Pakistan
Province	Balochistan
District	Kech District
Tehsil	Turbat Tehsil
Elevation	129 m (423 ft)
Population (1998)^[1]
• Total	79,200
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
Number of Union councils	1

Turbat (Urdu: تُربت‎), is a city located in southern Balochistan, a province of Pakistan. The town is the administrative centre of Kech District and Turbat Tehsil, the town itself contains one Union council.^[2]

About

The town is located in southern Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is situated on the left bank of the Kech River, which is a tributary to the Dasht River. The Makran Range to the north and east descends to coastal plains in the south. The town is a marketplace for dates grown in the surrounding region and has a date-processing factory. Jowar (sorghum), barley, wheat, and rice are also grown, and livestock are raised.

Koh-e-Murad (Persian: كوه مراد‎) is a shrine located in Turbat. This is a sacred place for Zikris where they believe that Muhammad Jaunpuri, who they view as the Mahdi, meditated and offered prayers for a long time.

The followers of Zikri sect gather here annually on the night of 27th Ramadan for a ritual visit (Arabic: زيارة‎, Urdu/Persian Persian: زيارت‎) to this shrine. and also turbat have multilanguial singers. The town has a special place in Baloch folklore and literature, it is the home of Punnu, hero of the romance of Sassi Punnun. The remains of Punnu's fort can still be seen at Turbat.^[3]

History

Turbat was ruled since ancient times by the Gichki Tribes of Makran. It was then the headquarters of the Makran State and the Nawab of Makran resided in Shahi Tump near Turbat. When Makran State was dissolved, Turbat city remained the Division Headquarters. Turbat means place of Graveyard. It has different historical places and associated stories.

Places of interest

Koh-e-Murad
Former palace of the Nawab of Makran
The Nazim's Mosque
The Governament's Farm.
Fort of Punno, commonly known as meri-e-kalat.
Absor, a very important town of the district Turbat
Hapdrok river (Balochi: Hapdrok) is a river that is joined on the south side by mountain waters and on the other side by the Kor river.
Mirani Dam.
Dasht Sangai.
Pirani Lumb Dasht.
Kech Kor (river).

Grave of shey Umer(Shey Umer was a son of Murad whom was prince of Mirri Kalat on that time when Shey Umer was killed.It is situated in BUGH Turbat).The stone of Shey Umer's grave brought from KOH-e-MURAD by his uncle.

Transport

Turbat has an international airport which offers direct flights to Gwadar, Karachi, and Sharjah, (U.A.E). The road network links Turbat with Panjgur and Kalat to the northwest and Pasni to the southeast and to Karachi in the East.

Sunni Extremism & Religious Persecution

According to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and other independent international and national media sources, due to banned terrorist organizations likes of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi & Pakistani Taliban and deliberate efforts of the Pakistan governmental agencies to counter the Baloch nationalist's fight for the independence, there has been the surge in the religious extremism in Turbat targeting Hindus, Hazaras, Shias and Zikris, resulting in migration of over 300,000 Shias, Zikris, and Hindus from Baluchistan.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]