Time for Provincial Status

Zhob Division, with a population of 2.04 million and an area of 9,447 km², is larger than many sovereign territories in population and land area. Despite its status as a key agricultural region, it faces deep-rooted poverty, infrastructural decay, and chronic neglect, receiving an inequitable share of provincial development funding. Around 51% of its population lives below the poverty line, over 30% of children are out of school, literacy remains low at 32.3% , and over 1,200 crime cases are reported annually. Experts believe that granting provincial status could be a game-changer, ensuring fair representation, improved governance, and balanced development.

Key Socio-Economic Indicators
Annually Registered Crime Around 1,200
No Drainage and Sanitation 38% (Unimproved)
Literacy Rate 32.3%
Lacking Basic Health Facilities Around 60–80% (rural)
Population below the Poverty Line 48–55%
Youth Unemployment 24.3%
Child Stunted Growth 52–54%
Development Budget Allocation of Balochistan 26%
No Access to Safe Drinking Water 59–72%
Annually registered crime — over 1,200 cases
No drainage and sanitation — 38% unimproved
Literacy rate — 32.3%
Lacking basic health facilities — over 70%
Population below the poverty line — 48–55%
Youth unemployment — 24.3%
Child stunted growth — 52–54%
Development budget allocation of Balochistan — 26%
No access to safe drinking water — 59–72%
03
Districts
07
Tehsils
0
Population (2023 Census)
0
Area (km2)

Key Challenges

Zhob Division is grappling with a web of deep-rooted challenges from phantom healthcare facilities and critical staff shortages to severe drought, unsafe drinking water, and structural isolation, collectively eroding public welfare and economic survival.

  • Health Overload:
    The division suffers from severe medical scarcity, including 68 “ghost” healthcare facilities that exist only on paper.
  • Education Shortfalls:
    The region lacks quality schools and trained teachers, leading to extremely low literacy rates.
  • Sewerage Pollution:
    Open drainage networks and absent waste management systems trigger frequent outbreaks of waterborne diseases.
  • Drinking Water:
    Arid weather and severe groundwater depletion force communities to rely on contaminated seasonal streams.
  • Employment Challenges:
    Absent industrial zones force locals to rely on volatile agriculture and cross-border trade.
  • Budget Allocation:
    Mountainous rural divisions like Zhob historically receive a fraction of provincial PSDP funds compared to Quetta.
Key challenges in Zhob Division

Governance Deficits

Sewerage Overload

Zhob Division faces a far worse sewerage crisis than Quetta Division.

Sewerage Disposal Plants:

Zhob
0
Quetta
1/1

Poor Road Infrastructure

Zhob primary highway networks are severely dilapidated, and the critical across the Sulaiman Range has remained dangerous and heavily damaged for decades due to landslides and heavily overloaded cargo transport.

Drinking Water

Zhob Division faces a much worse drinking water crisis than Quetta Division.

Inactive Filtration Plants:

Zhob
72%
Quetta
42%

Poverty Rate

Compared to Quetta, Zhob is facing a much deeper poverty challenge.

Zhob
80%
Quetta
28.5%

Health Indicators

Stunted Growth & Wasting

Child malnutrition, including stunting and wasting, is significantly worse in Zhob than in Quetta.

Stunted

Zhob
49.7%
Quetta
51.0%

Wasting

Zhob
19.5%
Quetta
52.5%

Beds per 1,000 people

The availability of hospital beds is considerably lower in Zhob than in Quetta.

Zhob
0.28
Quetta
0.72

Teaching & Specialized Hospitals

Quetta has a much stronger network of teaching and specialized hospitals than Zhob.

Zhob
0
Quetta
4

Child Health Crisis

The child health situation in Zhob is far more alarming than in Quetta.

Infant Mortality (per 1,000 live births)

Zhob
74
Quetta
58.4

Child Mortality (Under-5, per 1,000 live births)

Zhob
89
Quetta
74.5

Health Professionals per 1,000

The health workforce is much weaker in Zhob than in Quetta.

Doctors, Nurses & Midwives per 1,000 Population

Zhob
0.32
Quetta
0.48

Education Shortfalls

Out of School Children

Zhob Division faces a far greater challenge of out-of-school children than Quetta Division.

Zhob
65%
Quetta
45.7%

Net Enrolment Rate

Zhob Division faces a much deeper education gap in primary net enrolment than Quetta Division.

Zhob
28%
Quetta
44.2%

Access to Schools

Limited physical access to functional educational facilities remains a serious concern in Zhob Division.

Zhob
41%
Quetta
46.0%

Judicial Stats

High Court of Balochistan

At the High Court, approximately 375 cases pertaining to the Zhob Division are pending, constituting 7.48% of the High Court’s total backlog.

Lower Courts (Zhob Division)

In the lower courts of the Zhob Division, 1,114 criminal cases and 196 civil cases are currently pending.

Consequently, the total number of pending cases in the lower courts of the Zhob Division amounts to 1,310.

Annually Registered Crime Cases

On average, approximately 1,000 to 1,300 crime cases are registered annually in the Zhob Division.

Global Comparison:

  • Pakistan: 241.5 million people with 04 provinces
  • India: Had 9 states at independence; now has 37. New states are created every five years, doubling the pace of development.
  • China: 1.4 billion people with 31 provinces.
  • USA: 320 million people with 50 states.
  • Indonesia: 275 million people with 34 provinces.
  • Russia: 142 million people with 70 to 75 provinces.

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