Khanozai

History

The word “Khanozai” is the combination of two words Pashto words “Khano” and “zoi” which means the ‘son of Khano’. Historically speaking, Pani (the founder of Panezai tribe) had two sons; first’s name was “Khano” and seconds name was “Balo”. It is said that they were nomadic shepherds and with passage of time, to fulfill the requirements of life they adopted farming as occupation. These two brothers are said to constitute Panezai tribe. As the sub-cast of Kakar, Panezai belong to Pashtun nation.

Location and Strategic Importance

Khanozai town basically comprises three main villages besides many small and scattered clusters of dwellings i.e. Dadhaqzai, Saki Zai and Saleh Zai. Geographically, it is located at Latitude 30°37'15.64"N and longitude 67°20'20.99"E. It is situated at a height of 6457 ft. above the sea level (Google Earth, 2014). Strategically, it has got very important position due to two considerable reasons. Firstly, it is located on the national highway N-50, which provides a smooth and easy access of transportation both to social and commercial sectors; secondly, it serves as a junction for the neighboring 5 districts. Khanozai is situated 75 KM away in the Northeast of the provincial capital Quetta. It is at distance of 35 KM from District Pishin and in the west there is District Zhob at 225 KM. In the north, there is Barshore sub-division, in the south the limits of Khanozai extends to Ziarat District. In the East, it connects with Loralai District through Rod Malazai via Spera Ragha Road. In the Northeast, there is Killa Saifullah District. In the West, Khanozai meets with Pishin through Surkhab Camp (the famous Afghan Refugee camp) via Surkhab Road.

Administrative Setup

Khanozai is the tehsil head quarter of Tehsil Karezat and it serves as Municipal Committee under local government system. In total, there are Nine (9) Union Councils (UCs) in Tehsil Karezat.