Ziarat and the Quaid-e-Azam Residency

Hill Station With The Quaid E Azam Residency, Where Jinnah Spent His Last Weeks In 1948, Surrounded By One Of The Largest Juniper Forests In The World · Ziarat, Balochistan

Ziarat is a small hill station at about 2,400 metres in the mountains northeast of Quetta, and it has two claims on Pakistan's affection. The first is the Quaid-e-Azam Residency, a wooden colonial lodge of 1892 with deep verandahs set in gardens, where Muhammad Ali Jinnah spent the last weeks of his life in the summer of 1948 before he was flown to Karachi to die. It is a national monument, and in June 2013 separatist militants attacked it with rockets and burned it down; it was rebuilt within a year and reopened, and that act of rebuilding matters to many Pakistanis. The second is the forest: Ziarat is surrounded by one of the largest juniper forests in the world, slow-growing trees some of which are said to be thousands of years old. In summer it is a cool escape from the heat of Quetta and Sindh, and in winter it is under snow. Balochistan has serious security problems and many governments advise against travel, so a visit needs checking and, for foreigners, permission and escort.

Ziarat town, Ziarat District, northeast of Quetta, Ziarat, Balochistan, Pakistan

The Residency is open daily in daytime hours, with a small fee; it may close for official visits or security reasons. Ziarat is about three hours by road from Quetta. Foreigners usually need permission and a police escort to travel outside Quetta in Balochistan - confirm before going. Winter brings snow and road closures.

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