Zhob (; ), formerly known as Fort Sandeman, is a city and district headquarters of the Zhob District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of the Zhob river. It lies 337 kilometres away from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
During the British colonial era, it was named Fort Sandeman after the British Indian Army officer Robert Groves Sandeman. It obtained its current name in 1976 when the then prime minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto changed its name.
Early in the 13th century the country came within the sphere of the Mongol raids organised by Genghis Khan.
Until the Zhob Valley Expedition of 1884, the area was practically unknown to Europeans. In 1889, the Zhob Valley and Gomal Pass were taken under the control of the British Government. In December 1889, the town of Zhob, then known as Apozai, was occupied by the British and named Fort Sandeman after Sir Robert Sandeman.
The military garrison included a native cavalry and a native infantry regiment. It also served as the headquarters of the Zhob Levy Corps. In 1894, a water supply from the Saliaza valley was established, enabling irrigation for corps and fruit trees planting of fruits and trees as well as providing drinking water. The project cost slightly over a lakh of rupees.
During the colonial era, the political agent resided in a building known as "the Castle" that lay to the north of the town and above the surface of the plain. The military lines, bazaar, dispensaries, and schools lay below. During this time, the railway system was built. The nearest railway station in Baluchistan is Harnai, distant. Bhakkar, the railway station for Dera Ismail Khan, is distant.
A local fund was created in 1890. The income during 1903-4 was 18,000 rupees and the expenditure 17,000 rupees. One-third of the net receipts from octroi were paid over to the military authorities. There is a small sanitarium, about above sea-level, about away at Shinghar on the Sulaiman range, to which resort is made in the summer months.
There is a Pakistan Army cantonment in Zhob too. Semi-nomadic people from various provinces including Afghans migrated to Zhob due to the cityâÂÂs climate.
According to the census of 2017, the total population of Zhob city was 46,164, while the population of Zhob district was 310,544. The average annual growth rate was 2.52% from 1998 to 2017.
Zhob has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). Its rainfall is high enough to avoid the arid climate category found at lower elevations. Zhob receive rainfall on occasions from the monsoon, though this occurs very erratically.
Zhob is far from Quetta and far from Dera Ismail Khan. However, the road linking with Dera Ismail Khan is mostly a track passing through water streams and almost all of the road is metalloid.
Zhob was linked by rail with the Pakistan Railways network. In 1986 all service stopped and in 1991, the Pakistan Railways lifted the rails and permanently removed the line. There have been proposals to replace it with a broad gauge line but nothing has been implemented. The Zhob line originally split off the Chaman line north of Quetta at Bostan. A more direct route to the capital via Dera Ismail Khan and Darya Khan was also proposed. A new project was proposed in 2021 to link Quetta with Peshawar via Bostan, Zhob, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and Kohat.
Nothing became of this proposal.