Cenozoic • Paleogene group GSP memoir

Shagala Group

Paleocene–Eocene

Balochistan Basin · Kakar-Khurasan Basin

Cited in 3 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: group
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene · Late Paleocene–EocenePaleocene–Eocene
Named by: Malkani (2014)
Type locality: Not recorded
Thickness: Not recorded
Lithology: Flysch shale and sandstone with subordinate limestone (Murgha Faqirzai shale and Mina/Panjgur sandstone).
Synonyms: Not recorded

The Paleocene–Eocene Shagala Group — the Murgha Faqirzai shale and Mina sandstone — northern Balochistan's version of the Makran flysch.

Shagala Group was named by (Malkani 2014c). It includes the Murgha Faqirzai, Mina and Shagala formations (Malkani 2014c).

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Zhob-Muslim Bagh column

Shale / mudSandstoneIgneousFossils 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

Zhob-Muslim Bagh

Basin: Balochistan Basin
Region: Kakar-Khurasan Basin
Depositional environment: deep marine, marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

The Paleocene–Eocene flysch succession of the Kakar-Khurasan (back-arc) basin, comprising the Murgha Faqirzai and Mina formations (with the Shagala molasse); the northern equivalent of the Makran Hoshab–Panjgur flysch.

Sources (5)

Malkani, M. S. (2014). Revised stratigraphy of Balochistan basin.
Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.
Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.

Reviewer confidence: medium

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: Appears in a single-author Geological Survey of Pakistan memoir (Malkani & Mahmood 2017), not cross-confirmed against the Shah lexicon. The Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan is largely inactive, so documented provenance — not formal ratification — is the available signal.

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_shagalagroup,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Shagala 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/shagala-group (accessed September 5, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Malkani (2014).