Quetta is a historic city in Pakistan with a population of over 20 lakh. Many buildings and markets in Quetta are about 100 to 200 years old. Located in northeastern Balochistan, near the Durand Line (the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan), Quetta has been a center of trade and communication for centuries.
Some parts of the city are named after different places in Afghanistan, such as the Kandahari Bazaar, which is in the center of Quetta and named after the Afghan city of Kandahar. The market was established during the British India period and was famous for Kandahari pomegranates and dry fruits that came from Afghanistan and were exported to other major Pakistani cities, such as Karachi, Lahore, and Parana, as well as to Bombay and Calcutta.
While Kandahari Bazaar no longer has fruit shops, it has various shopping centers and shops where Balochi glasswork, Pashtun handicrafts, and Afghan carpets are sold, as well as fur coats, embroidered jackets, waistcoats, and other traditional Pashtun items. On the circular road of Kandhari Bazaar, there are special shops of hats, which are brought here from different cities of Sindh and then taken to Kandahar, Helmand, and Helmand provinces of Afghanistan.
The cut-piece street of this market with more than 300 shops offers men’s and women’s clothes at reasonable prices, making it a popular shopping destination for people from all over the district. Dry fruits are also sold at Badam Street, which is famous throughout Pakistan and still imports dry fruits from Afghanistan.
At the end of Kandhari Bazaar is Meezan Market, which still exists in its original state in the old style. Various tailor shops can be found here, and the rates are reasonable compared to other places. Although people in Quetta have been affected by recent inflation in Pakistan, the prices in Kandahari Bazaar are still reasonable compared to other markets. Citizens from other districts of Balochistan also come here for Eid shopping
