Usta Mohammad is a city and sub-division of the Jaffarabad District of Balochistan Province, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. The subdivision has an area of 978 km² and had an estimated population 160,230 in 2008. The city has an area of 3.3 km² and an estimated population of 35,000.

People

More than 99% of the people of the district are Muslims. The major Baloch

Baloch people

The Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....

 tribes in the district are ,USTO, Abro

Abro

The Abro, Abra or Abrah , , is a division of the Samma tribe, found in Sindh, Balochistan and southern Punjab provinces of Pakistan.- Origin :...

,Bohar

Bohar

The Bohar are a Jat clan found in the Punjab province of Pakistan and Rajasthan state of India.-History and origin:The Bohar is a tribe in Punjabi Wasib+ Saraiki Wasaib in Pakistan and Indian state Rajastan . In early times this tribe was non muslims when the Saints and Sufi's came into the...

Siyal, umrani

Umrani

The 'Umrani' is a Baloch tribe, originating in the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan and Sindh. Umrani tribe is mostly settled in Nasirabad District and Jafarabad District, the southeastern districts of Balochistan, but some of them also settled in Kalat District, Khuzdar District and Awaran...

, Bhangar

Bhangar

Bhangar is a Sindhi tribe in Sindh and Balochistan in Pakistan.Bhangar is a cast/tribe having a Sindhi Mother-tongue. The tribe is widely settled throughout Pakistan Including Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan but majority is settled in Balochistan province in districts of Nasirabad, Jaffarabad, Quetta...

, JAMALI

Jamali

Jamali is the name of a Baloch tribe in Pakistan. Jamali tribe consists of 14 more tribes,like Esaani,Mureedani,Walwaani,Dodaani,Lalwaani. A large number of Jamali tribes also live in province of Sindh; these peopole speak Balochi,Sindhi,Seraiki,Punjabi and Urdu languages. In Sindh majority of...

, Khoso,,,, Mastoi

Mastoi

The Mastoi or Mustoi are a Baloch tribe in the Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab provinces of Pakistan.- History and origins :Mastois are the descendants of Mir Chakar Khan Rind Baloch...

,,,, Mengal

Mengal

Mengal is a Brahui / Baloch tribe in Balochistan, Pakistan- Demographics :The Mengal tribe is one of the largest Baloch tribe. Mengal people speak Brahui, a Dravidian language that has been heavily influenced by other Iranian languages spoken in the area, especially Balochi...

.Marri

Marri

Marri ) is one of the largest ethnic Baloch tribes in Balochistan and Sindh provinces of Pakistan. Marri was considered to be a clan of the Rind tribe in the early history of Baloch and Balochistan...

,, denari rind , , Soomro's, TUNIA Faqeer,, maken,,Baladi Jat syed-jeelaniand many others.

The Usta Mohammad sub‑division was a part of Sindh

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 until recently. Usta Mohammad is named after death of namedMula Mohammad Khan UstoMohammad is Name and Usto is cast Maulvi

Mawlawi (Islamic title)

Mawlawi is an honorific Islamic religious title given to Sunni Muslim religious scholars or Ulema preceding their names, similar to the titles Maulana, Mullah, or Shaykh. Mawlawi generally means highly-qualified Islamic scholar...

 Usta Mohammad. The sub-division center is the city of Usta Muhammad. Unions in the district are Ali Abad, Faiz Abad ,Khan Pur, Mehrab Pur, Piral Abad, Qabula, Samaji, Sobarani-II, Usta Muhammad I, Usta Muhammad II, Usta Muhammad III.

Climate and economy

Usta Mohammad is in the Kachhi plain basin, with an average altitude of about 55 meters. Annual rainfall is only about 90mm, of which 60mm falls in Winter (November–May). Winters are cold, and summers are dry and extremely hot. The people of the district are poor, with inadequate access to medical supplies and facilities.

The area is sometimes subject to flooding, as happened in June 2007 after Cyclone Yemyin

Cyclone Yemyin

Cyclone Yemyin was a deadly tropical cyclone that made landfalls on India and Pakistan. The Pakistan Meteorological Department referred to Tropical Cyclone 03B as "Tropical Cyclone Yemyin"...

. The Kachhi Canal Project

Kachhi Canal Project

The Kachhi Canal Project is located in Punjab, Pakistan. It was started in October 2002. The project, estimated to cost Rs28 billion, is planned as a fast track part of Water Vision 2025, the national development programme of water and hydropower resources. The first leg of the project comprises...

, started in 2002, is expected to have a significant impact in conserving floodwater and controlling water flows.

Crops include rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

, wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

 and sorghum

Sorghum

Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...

. A survey in 2002 determine that the incidence of S. sorghi, the causal organism of grain smut of sorghum, reached 7% in Usta Mohammad. A recent survey of rice farmers in the district found that 33% were illiterate, 55% farmed from 12-40 acres of land, and 58.3% were tenant farmers. Some farms raise cattle, sheep and goats.

The city has an Agri-Development Institute and a Government Degree College.

Baba Kot incident

The city gained unwelcome attention when, on July 13, 2008, five women from the village of Baba Kot about 80 km away were kidnapped by armed men who objected to three of them wanting to marry men of their choice in defiance of the Umrani

Umrani

The 'Umrani' is a Baloch tribe, originating in the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan and Sindh. Umrani tribe is mostly settled in Nasirabad District and Jafarabad District, the southeastern districts of Balochistan, but some of them also settled in Kalat District, Khuzdar District and Awaran...

 tribal elders. The women were about to leave Baba Kot for a civil court at Usta Mohammad. They were forced into a jeep, driven to a remote area, beaten and buried alive, according to the Asian Human Rights Commission

Asian Human Rights Commission

The Asian Human Rights Commission is an independent, non-governmental body, which seeks to promote greater awareness and realisation of human rights in the Asian region, and to mobilise Asian and international public opinion to obtain relief and redress for the victims of human rights violations...

.