Pishin, IPA: pʂin/pçin, is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. District Pishin is located at a strategic point and is 45km² from the provincial headquarters, Quetta. In 1975, it was bifurcated from Quetta District, while in 1993 part of it was split off to form the new district of Killa Abdullah. Again in 2022, part of it created the new district of Karezat. The name Pishin is a modernized form of ‘Pushang’, which is how the city was designated in (mainly pre-modern) Persian sources (Arabic sources using 'Fushang'). Myth attributes the origin of the Persian designation to a son of the mythical Emperor Afrasiab. Fushing was the spelling used in the records of Afghan government. The population of Pishin District was 300,000 in 2005.

Administration

Pishin District is subdivided into five tehsils or sub-districts:

Demographics

As of the 2023 census, Pishin district has 147,185 households and a population of 835,482. The district has a sex ratio of 104.34 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 51.07%: 65.85% for males and 36.05% for females. 318,031 (38.07% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 243,785 (29.18%) live in urban areas. 2,441 (0.29% of the surveyed population) are religious minorities, mainly Christians. Pashto is the predominant language, spoken by 99.07% of the population. Pishin's main ethnic groups are Pashtuns who belong to the Tareen, Syed, Kakar, and Achakzai tribes. However, the Tareen tribe is known to be the ruling one among them.

Agriculture and Farming

The main crops in the area are wheat, barley, corn (maize), potatoes, grapes, apple, pomegranate, almond, apricot, plum and peach which are grown in the valleys. Sheep and goats are also herded.

Notable people