Khuzdar is the capital city of the Khuzdar District in the central part of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Khuzdar is the 3rd-largest city of the Balochistan province and the 48th-largest city of Pakistan by population according to the 2017 census. Historically, Khuzdar was the main city and capital of the Jhalawan province of the Khanate of Kalat. From October 1952 to 1955, it became part of the Balochistan States Union. In 1955, Khuzdar became the capital of the newly formed Kalat Division. Currently, it is the largest Brahui-speaking city.The name for the city was originally in the Middle Persian language, deriving from the Middle Persian word for silk – “qaz”, and “dar” which originates from Arabic meaning “house of” or “seat of” “Qazdar”, meaning “place of silk”. It is located on an old caravan route to the Arabian Sea and is surrounded by orchards. The town is a market centre for wool, and deposits of barite are worked nearby. The baked-brick fort in the town was built in 1870. Khuzdār town is on the main road between Kalāt town and Karāchi. The surrounding area is mostly mountainous and is semiarid. Pop. (1998 prelim.) 93,060.
