Balochistan

Balochistan is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of desert and mountains is primarily populated by ethnic Baloch people. Balochistan is significant because of its strategic location, mineral wealth, long coastline along the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and potential for discoveries of oil and gas. The Balochistan region is split among three countries: Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Administratively it comprises the Pakistani province of Balochistan; the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, along with southern Kerman province, southern South Khorasan province and eastern Hormozgan province; and the southern areas of Afghanistan, which include Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces. It borders what was historically the Pashtunistan region to the north, Sindh and Punjab to the east, and southeastern Iran to the west. Its southern coastline, including the Makran Coast, is washed by the Arabian Sea, in particular by its western part, the Gulf of Oman.