Zhob District

Zhob District
ضلع ژوب
ږوب ولسوالۍ‎
District of Balochistan
Top: Zhob Bazaar
Bottom: Mountains near Zhob
Map of Balochistan with Zhob District highlighted
Map of Balochistan with Zhob District highlighted
Country Pakistan
Province Balochistan
DivisionZhob
Established1890
Founded byBritish government
HeadquartersZhob (formally Fort Sandeman)
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • Deputy CommissionerN/A
 • District Police OfficerN/A
 • District Health OfficerN/A
Area
15,987 km2 (6,173 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[1]
355,692
 • Density22/km2 (58/sq mi)
 • Urban
46,976
 • Rural
308,716
Literacy
[2]
 • Literacy rate
  • Total:
    (36.62%)
  • Male:
    (45.24%)
  • Female:
    (26.81%)
Time zonePKT
Number of Tehsils5
Main Language(s)Pashto

Zhob District (Pashto: ږوب ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع ژوب) is a district in the northwestern part of Balochistan province of Pakistan. The population of Zhob District was estimated at 355,692 in 2023.[1] Water from Zhob River is used for irrigation in the district.

Administration

The 1998 census report lists two sub-divisions: Lower Zhob (comprising Zhob tehsil and Sambaza sub-tehsil) and Kakar Khurasan (encompassing the tehsil of Qamar Din Karez and the subtehsil of Ashewat).[3] A government webpage lists these as Ashwat, Qamar Din Karez, Sambaza and Zhob, without indicating if any of them are sub-tehsils.[4]

Tehsil Area

(km²)[5]

Pop.

(2023)

Density

(ppl/km²)

(2023)

Literacy rate

(2023)[6]

Union Councils
Qamar Din Karez Tehsil ... ... ... ... ...
Zhob Tehsil 9,322 284,620 30.53 41.27% ...
Ashwat Tehsil 901 25,094 27.85 14.51% ...
Kashatu Tehsil 1,590 5,810 3.65 9.64% ...
Sambaza Tehsil 2,888 25,150 8.71 21.65% ...


Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1961 39,755—    
1972 74,519+5.88%
1981 134,660+6.80%
1998 193,458+2.15%
2017 310,354+2.52%
2023 355,692+2.30%
Sources:[7]
Religions in Zhob district (2023)[8]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 99.51%
Christianity
 
 0.41%
Other or not stated
 
 0.08%

As of the 2023 census, Zhob district has 47,901 households and a population of 355,692. The district has a sex ratio of 117.57 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 36.62%: 45.24% for males and 26.81% for females.[1][9] 159,100 (44.75% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.[10] 46,976 (13.21%) live in urban areas.[1] 1,732 (0.49% of the surveyed population) are religious minorities, mainly Christians and some Hindus.[8]

Languages of Zhob district (2023)
  1. Pashto (97.7%)
  2. Saraiki (1.49%)
  3. Others (0.86%)

At the time of the 2023 census, 97.65% of the population spoke Pashto and 1.49% Saraiki as their first language.[11]

The majority of the population of Zhob district is Pashtun. The tribes of Zhob district include the Mandokhail, Khosti, Sherani, Kakar, Sulaimankhel, Harifal, Lawoon and Babar. A large number of IDPs were settled within the confines of the district as part of the evacuation from Operation Zarb-e-Azb that took place to the north of Zhob.

Religious groups in Zhob District (British Baluchistan era)
Religious
group 		1901[12] 1911[13] 1921[14] 1931[15] 1941[16]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Islam 99,599 96.3% 68,088 96.76% 52,302 92.3% 53,844 92.89% 55,987 91.04%
Hinduism 3,086 2.98% 1,391 1.98% 3,398 6% 2,839 4.9% 4,286 6.97%
Sikhism 610 0.59% 715 1.02% 826 1.46% 1,134 1.96% 1,076 1.75%
Christianity 133 0.13% 168 0.24% 141 0.25% 115 0.2% 146 0.24%
Judaism 1 0% 1 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Jainism 0 0% 1 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Zoroastrianism 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 1 0%
Buddhism — — 2 0% 1 0% 27 0.05% 0 0%
Tribal — — — — — — 0 0% 3 0%
Others 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 4 0.01% 0 0%
Total population 103,429 100% 70,366 100% 56,668 100% 57,963 100% 61,499 100%
Note: British Baluchistan era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

Military activity

On 30 October 2024, Pakistan's security forces killed a member of the TTP and injured another during an intelligence-based operation in Sambaza, recovering weapons and ammunition.[17] The action was followed by a "sanitization operation" in the area.[17] On 10 December, 15 militants and a Pakistan Army soldier were killed during an engagement in the district.[18]

In January 2025, the forces killed an Afghan national in the district having links to terrorism on the 11th[19] and eliminated six TTP militants crossing across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on the 23rd.[20] On 8 August, 33 members of the TTP, which the ISPR describes as Fitna al Khwarij, were killed by the security forces as they tried to cross into Sambaza across the border.[21][22][23] The forces also recovered a cache of arms, explosives, and ammunition.[21]

See also

Bibliography

  • 1998 District Census report of Zhob. Census publication. Vol. 107. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 1" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  2. ^ "Literacy rate, enrolments, and out-of-school population by sex and rural/urban, CENSUS-2023, BALOCHISTAN" (PDF).
  3. ^ PCO 1998, p. 10.
  4. ^ "List of Tehsils/Talukas with respect to their Districts" Federal Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan Archived 30 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "TABLE 1 : AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, CENSUS-2023, BALOCHISTAN" (PDF).
  6. ^ "LITERACY RATE, ENROLMENT AND OUT OF SCHOOL POPULATION BY SEX AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS-2023, BALOCHISTAN" (PDF).
  7. ^ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  8. ^ a b "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 9" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  9. ^ "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 12" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  10. ^ "7th Population and Housing Census: Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and Rural/Urban" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  11. ^ "7th Population and Housing Census: Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and Rural/Urban" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  12. ^ "Census of India 1901. Vol. 5A, Baluchistan. Pt. 2, Imperial tables". 1901. p. 5. JSTOR saoa.crl.25352844. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Census of India 1911. Vol. 4, Baluchistan : pt. 1, Report; pt. 2, Tables". 1911. p. 11. JSTOR saoa.crl.25393764. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Census of India 1921. Vol. 4, Baluchistan : part I, Report; part II, Tables". 1921. p. 165. JSTOR saoa.crl.25394124. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Census of India 1931. Vol. 4, Baluchistan. Pts. 1 & 2, Report [and] Imperial and provincial tables". 1931. p. 390. JSTOR saoa.crl.25797115. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 14, Baluchistan". 1941. p. 17. JSTOR saoa.crl.28215993. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  17. ^ a b "One Khwarij terrorist killed other apprehended injured in Zhob operation: ISPR". 30 October 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  18. ^ Dawn.com (10 December 2024). "1 soldier martyred, 15 terrorists killed in operation in Balochistan's Zhob district: ISPR". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  19. ^ Dawn.com (21 January 2025). "Security forces neutralise Afghan national involved in terrorism during Zhob operation: ISPR". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  20. ^ Dawn.com (23 January 2025). "Security forces neutralise 6 terrorists in Balochistan's Zhob district: ISPR". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  21. ^ a b Dawn.com (8 August 2025). "Security forces kill 33 terrorists in Balochistan's Zhob district: ISPR". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  22. ^ "Pakistan says soldiers kill 33 fighters near Afghan border". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  23. ^ "33 terrorists killed as troops foil border breach attempt". The Express Tribune. 9 August 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
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