Mesozoic • Triassic group In GSP lexicon

Khanozai Group

Triassic

Sulaiman Basin

Cited in 4 sources Last reviewed Jul 18, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: group
Status: Published
Age: Mesozoic · Triassic · TriassicTriassic
Named by: Fatmi et al. (1986)
Type locality: Not recorded
Thickness: 350 m
Lithology: Dark-grey mudstone and shale with thin limestone, calcareous mudstone and sandstone.
Synonyms: Not recorded

The Triassic Khanozai Group — the Wulgai and Gwal formations — the dark mudstones at the base of the Mesozoic in western Balochistan.

Named by Fatmi et al. (1986) for the Gwal and Wulgai formations exposed along the Western Indus Suture where the Sulaiman and Balochistan basins meet. The Gwal Formation (Anwar et al., 1991) is variegated shale with thin-bedded limestone and marl, yielding Early Triassic (Scythian) ammonites (Meekoceras, Owenites, Anasibirites) and reaching about 350 m; the overlying Wulgai Formation (Williams, 1959) is variegated shale with medium-bedded limestone of Middle–Late Triassic age. The group correlates with the Mianwali Formation of the Upper Indus Basin.

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Sulaiman Fold Belt column

LimestoneShale / mudMetamorphicSandstoneFossils recordedConformable

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type. True scale makes height ∝ recorded thickness; hatched = thickness not recorded. Ages approximate, for ordering.

This unit (highlighted) within its province column; faded ends continue above and below. Line style marks the contact type.

Constituent units

Formations that make up this group, in stratigraphic order (youngest at top, as in the column).

Distribution & setting

Sulaiman Fold Belt

Basin: Sulaiman Basin
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

The Triassic succession of the Zhob/Muslimbagh region of the Balochistan ophiolite belt, comprising the Wulgai and Gwal formations; dark mudstone-shale with thin limestone, the base of the Mesozoic there.

Research notes (1)

Field-by-field findings drawn from the cited literature. Every statement is traced to a registered source — follow a citation for the full reference.

Name & nomenclature (1)

Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Sources (3)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.

Reviewer confidence: high

Every fact on this page is source-cited. This entry is part of the peer-archived Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991, CC‑BY‑4.0).

Lexicon status: Name attested in the Shah (1977/2009) Geological Survey of Pakistan compilation — the national stratigraphic lexicon. This records where the name is documented; it is not an endorsement of the unit’s definition, age or figures.

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Cite this unit

APA

Qudsi, L. (2026). Khanozai Group. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_khanozaigroup,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Khanozai Group} --- Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  doi       = {10.5281/zenodo.21363991},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991}
}

Archived dataset: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991 (CC‑BY‑4.0) · Direct link to this entry: https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/khanozai-group (accessed October 7, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Fatmi et al. (1986).