Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan. It is located in West Central Pakistan, at an altitude of 5,500 ft (1,675 m), ringed by mountains. The actual population of the city before the 1979 Soviet Invasion on neighbouring Afganistan was around 500,000. Now the city is home to over 1 million and many are refugees who fled Afganistan! Deriving its name from the Pashto word kawkot [fort], it commands the entrance through the strategic Bolan Pass into Afghanistan and is a trade center for Afghanistan, Iran, and much of Central Asia! The ... (more)