The city of Kalat or Qalat, from Arabic Qal'a, meaning 'fortress', was originally known as Kalat-e Sewa, after the pre-Islamic Hindu monarch who ruled the region, later being called Kalat-e Baloch as Baloch tribes migrated into the region in the 15th century, to distinguish it from Kalāt-e Ghilzai in Afghanistan, and Kalat-e Sewa, after its legendary founder.
It has been known in earlier times as Kalāt-i-Sēva (from a legendary Hindu king) and Kalāt-i-Ničārī which connects it with the Brahōī tribe of Ničārī, which is generally accepted as belonging to the oldest branch of the indigenous Brahōīs.
As per the local folklore, the town of Kalat was founded by the Hindu Sewa dynasty (Qalat-e Sewa) before the Brahui rule in the 15th century.
In the 15th century, Kalat was conquered by the Brahui people under Mirwari clan from the Hindu Sewa dynasty, from where they soon established a large kingdom. The Brahui Khans of Kalat were dominant from the 17th century onwards until the arrival of the British in the 19th century. A treaty was signed in 1876 to make Kalat part of the British Empire. In 1948, the last Khan of Kalat acceded to the dominion of Pakistan. He was formally removed from power in 1955, but the title is still claimed by his descendants. The current Khan of Qalat is Mir Suleman Dawood Jan.
Climate
Kalat features a cold desert climate (BWk) under the Köppen climate classification. The average temperature in Kalat is 14.1°C (57.4°F), while the annual precipitation averages 163mm (6.4in). June is the driest month with 1mm (0.039in) of rainfall, while January, the wettest month, has an average precipitation of 36mm (1.4in).
July is the warmest month of the year with an average temperature of 24.8°C (76.6°F). The coldest month January has an average temperature of 3.4°C (38.1°F). The all-time lowest recorded temperature in Kalat was −17°C (1°F) on 20 January 1978, while the highest temperature ever recorded was 38°C (100°F) on 19 June 1977.
Climate data for Kalat
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
10.3 (50.5)
12.1 (53.8)
17.1 (62.8)
22.1 (71.8)
27.4 (81.3)
31.9 (89.4)
32.6 (90.7)
31.7 (89.1)
28.6 (83.5)
23.3 (73.9)
17.5 (63.5)
13.1 (55.6)
22.3 (72.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)
3.4 (38.1)
5.3 (41.5)
9.8 (49.6)
14.3 (57.7)
18.9 (66.0)
22.7 (72.9)
24.8 (76.6)
23.4 (74.1)
19.4 (66.9)
13.8 (56.8)
8.6 (47.5)
4.9 (40.8)
14.1 (57.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
−3.5 (25.7)
−1.5 (29.3)
2.6 (36.7)
6.6 (43.9)
10.5 (50.9)
13.5 (56.3)
17.0 (62.6)
15.2 (59.4)
10.3 (50.5)
4.3 (39.7)
−0.2 (31.6)
−3.3 (26.1)
6.0 (42.7)
Source: Climate-Data.org
Demographics
Population
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1951
2,009
—
1961
5,321
+10.23%
1972
6,481
+1.81%
1981
11,037
+6.09%
1998
22,646
+4.32%
2017
36,864
+2.60%
2023
44,440
+3.16%
Source:
As of the 2023 census, Kalat has population of 44,440.
The population is mostly Muslim (97 percent), with a Hindu population of three percent, out of which many are Hindkowan merchants who regard Kalat as their homeland.
"The Hindus of Kalat town — undoubtedly among the oldest in the community — claim to be offshoots of the mysterious Sewa dynasty that ruled in Kalat centuries before the Brahui Confederacy took shape. But though the Bhatia of Las Bela punctiliously refer their advent to the year 708 A.D., and the Hindus of Lahri tell in all good faith of their journeyings from Aleppo with Chakar the Rind, the early history of these old Hindu families is hopelessly befogged. Everything, however, seems to point to the western Panjab and Sind as the countries from which most of them came, though isolated families in Nushki may have immigrated by way of Afghanistan, and a few others may have wandered in from the far corners of India. Originally they may have been as diverse as the villages from which they came and the dates of their coming. Today the old Hindu families form a more or less homogeneous community. In particular customs no doubt they vary considerably; but common environment has set its common mark on them all. And it is in the effect of an alien environment on Hindus and Hindu caste that the main interest in these old trading families of Baluchistan is centred."
Kalat Kali Temple is a Hindu temple devoted to Kali. The Kali Temple of Kalat is located at the foot of the ancient city fort of Kalat state. This temple was built before the arrival of Islam in South Asia.
123Viking fund publications in anthropology, Issue 43. Viking Fund. 1908. Retrieved 17 August 2008. Kalat Town.-Capital of the Kalat State in Baluchistan, situated in 29° 2′ N. and 66° 35′ E., 881 miles from Quetta on the south of the Sarawan division. It is known to the natives as Kalat-i-Baloch and Kalat-i-Sewa
12"Kalāt Balochistan". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 20 October 2025. The town, known locally as Kalāt-e Baluch to distinguish it from Kalāt-e Ghilzai (Qalāt-e Ghelzāʾī) in Afghanistan, and Kalāt-e Sewa after its legendary founder, occupies a spur of the Shas-i Mardan Hill at the western end of Kalāt valley.
↑SYED, KARIM HAIDER; KHAN, IMRAN (December 2020). "GEOGRAPHICAL IMPORTANCE OF FORMER PRINCELY STATE OF KALAT IN FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN"(PDF). Pakistan Geographical Review. 75, No2. University of the Punjab Lahore: 284–300. Retrieved 5 June 2026. Kalat has been the capital of Baloch chiefs. Kalat has been the capital of Baloch chiefs. Thousands of chiefs used to visit Kalat every year Inspired by the jirgas held there, they used to go back to their respective areas and hold jirgas. The chieftaincy system of Baluchistan also started from the Kalat.
123Viking fund publications in anthropology, Issue 43. Viking Fund. 1908. Retrieved 17 August 2008. Commanding the town is the miri or citadel, an imposing structure in which the Khan resides. Kalat fell into the hands of the Mirwāris about the fifteenth century, since which time the place has remained the capital of the Ahmadzai Khāns
↑Baloch, N.A. (1978). "ḲANDĀBĪL". In Van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume IV (IRAN-KHA). Leiden: E.J. Brill. pp.534–5. ISBN90-04-05745-5. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
↑Viking fund publications in anthropology, Issue 43. Viking Fund. 1966. Retrieved 17 August 2008. ...is in the hands of a small caste of Hindu merchants. These Hindus are Hindko-speaking and regard Kalat as their homeland, where they generally keep their families and go for some months every year to visit and to obtain supplies. While in the Marri area, they must be under the protection of a local Marri chief or the sardar himself.
↑The social organization of the Marri Baluch. Indus Publications. 1977. Retrieved 17 August 2008. ...is in the hands of a small caste of Hindu merchants. These Hindus are Hindko-speaking and regard Kalat as their homeland, where they generally keep their families and go for some months every year to visit and to obtain supplies. While in the Marri area, they must be under the protection of a local Marri chief or the sardar himself.
Pakistan
