Pakistan: Assassination of Benazir Bhutto - timeline
Searching more than 75 years of world history
Timeline
October 2007. At least one suicide bomber attacks Benazir Bhutto's slow-moving convoy upon her return to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed exile. Bhutto herself is uninjured. August 2007. Representatives of President Pervaiz Musharraf continue negotiations in London with Bhutto and senior officials of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP). July 2007. Bhutto and Musharraf begin negotiations to attempt to reach a power-sharing agreement that would allow her to return to Pakistan. May 2007. Protests against Musharraf's suspension of the chief justice of the supreme court lcontinue. March 2007. Protests by lawyers and resignations of judges and high-ranking officials follow Musharraf's suspension of the chief justice of the supreme court. December 2006. The supreme court rules against the imposition of Islamic law in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). November 2006. A suicide bomber kills 42 soldiers at an army training base in NWFP. August 2006. Pakistani government forces kill veteran tribal leader Akhbar Bugti in a mountain hideout in Baluchistan province. June 2006. A journalist is allegedly murdered for reporting that it was a US attack that killed a senior leader of the al-Qaida militant network in North Waziristan. May 2006. Exiled former Prime Ministers Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif sign a "charter for democracy" in London, envisaging constitutional changes and other political measures to strengthen democracy in Pakistan. March 2006. Relations with Afghanistan are strained over security in the border areas as Afghan President Hamid Karzai alleges that Pakistan is failing to prevent Talibaan and al-Qaida fighters from launching offensives from the Pakistan side of their shared frontier. January 2006. A US unmanned drone aircraft attacks houses in NWFP, but misses the target of an al-Qaida leader; violent protests ensue. June 2005. Relations between the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan are strained over allegations that Talibaan insurgents are sheltering in Pakistan’s mountainous western frontier regions. May 2005. Pakistani government forces capture Faraj al-Libbi, who is said to be operations chief of al-Qaida in NWFP. March 2005. Fighting flares between government forces and tribesmen of the south-western province of Baluchistan. January 2005. An outbreak of violence in the south-western province of Baluchistan threatens to provoke an insurrection against federal rule. A key suspect in a plot to assassinate Musharraf escapes. October 2004. The National Assembly (the lower house of the federal legislature) passes a law enabling Musharraf to remain President and chief of the army at the same time. March 2004. A major military operation is launched to root out Talibaan militants in Waziristan; a broadcast by al-Qaida’s second in charge, Ayman al-Zawahiri, denounces the operation. December 2003. Two attempts to assassinate Musharraf are foiled. October 2003. Pakistan’s army launches an operation against Talibaan militants in South Waziristan. June 2003. The provincial legislature of NWFP unanimously approves the adoption of Islamic (sharia) law. President Musharraf dismisses NWFP officials and warns against the adoption of "Talibaanised" Islam. March 2003. The Pakistani police arrest high-ranking al-Qaida official Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who is alleged to be the architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the USA. June 2002. The Pakistani army battles al-Qaida and Talibaan forces; the US consulate in Karachi is hit by powerful truck bomb. April 2002. A referendum is held to gauge support for President Musharraf, but it is widely described as "rigged". The results show over 95 per cent support for his policy of fighting extremism and endorses his staying in power for five more years. January 2002. In a televised speech to the nation, President Musharraf condemns Islamist extremism as "intolerant", "hateful", "negative", "divisive", and "destructive". December 2001. The Talibaan regime in Afghanistan is overthrown by the US-led coalition. Pashtun royalist Hamid Karzai is sworn in as interim Afghan president. November 2001. Musharraf is granted an aid package by the USA in return for supporting the bombing campaign against the Talibaan in Afghanistan. US President George W. Bush ignores requests not to prosecute war during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan; violent protests erupt in Pakistan. October 2001. The US-led coalition forces launch air strikes on Afghanistan after the Talibaan fail to hand over Osama bin Laden. September 2001. Musharraf pledges to co-operate with USA in the "war on terror". Musharraf ends his support for the Taliban regime in neighbouring Afghanistan. September 2001. The Sept. 11 attacks on the USA are attributed to Osama bin Laden. June 2001. Musharraf is officially sworn in as president. April 2000. Former Pakistan Muslim League (PML) Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is convicted of hijacking and terrorism and sentenced to life imprisonment. October 1999. Musharraf topples Nawaz Sharif's regime in a bloodless coup, then pledges to restore democracy. Sharif is put under house arrest. February 1999. Attacks in Peshawar fuel fears that the Talibaan exerts strong influence inside Pakistan. The Talibaan regime in Afghanistan continues to harbour Osama bin Laden, who is wanted by the USA to stand trial on terrorism charges. May 1998. Pakistan successfully conducts nuclear tests, thereby becoming the world’s seventh nuclear power. January 1998. The Pakistani government files 12 corruption cases with Pakistan's accountability commission against Benazir Bhutto, her husband Asif Ali Zardari, and her mother Nusrat Bhutto. May 1997. Pakistan becomes the first country formally to recognise the Talibaan as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. February 1997. The PML, led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, overwhelmingly wins elections. December 1996. President Farooq Ahmed Leghari launches a fierce attack on Benazir Bhutto, accusing her and her government of treating the national exchequer as a "kitty for her and her cohorts". November 1996. The government of Benazir Bhutto is ousted by President Farooq Ahmed Leghari amid allegations of corruption. Key PPP members are detained. October 1993. In general elections Benazir Bhutto is re-elected prime minister. The national turnout for the election is low, at around 41 per cent, with voter apathy particularly marked in Sind province, the PPP's home base. October 1990. The PPP loses legislative elections; Nawaz Sharif of the PML is endorsed as prime minister, the first ethnic Punjabi to hold the post. President Ishaq Khan urges voters to shun the PPP, claiming it is not committed to "Islamic values". Aug. 6, 1990. After 20 months in office, Benazir Bhutto is dismissed as prime minister by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Khan accuses Bhutto 's government of corruption, abuse of power and of other acts "in contravention of the Constitution and the law". December 1988. Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of former PPP prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and leader of the PPP, is elected prime minister, the first woman to hold the post in Pakistan. Jan 1985. Benazir Bhutto describes the martial law regime imposed on Pakistan as being without legitimate authority, in her widely reported testimony as a defence witness in the sedition trial (under way since December 1981) of members of the Communist Party of Pakistan. Jan. 1984. Benazir Bhutto, who has been under house arrest since March 1981, is allowed to leave for the UK. November 1982. Begum Bhutto hands over the PPP leadership to her daughter Benazir. October 1979. Aid and other support for Muslim rebels and refugees flows from Pakistan during the Soviet-Afghan War. Afghan Muslim rebels establish bases in Pakistan to fight the Soviets. May 1979. Begum Nusrat Bhutto is elected life chairman of the PPP at a special party congress in Islamabad (the capital) in succession to her late husband. September 1978. After staging a military coup, Gen. Zia ul-Haq assumes power and suspends democratic activities. June 1978. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is arrested at the order of Gen. Zia on conspiracy to murder charges; he is later sentenced to death. Benazir Bhutto is placed under house arrest. July 1977. Violent demonstrations erupt and an army coup is launched after the secular PPP decisively wins elections, which are boycotted by opposition Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). February 1972. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of the PPP becomes prime minister. January 1972. The Indian army defeats Pakistani forces in Bangladesh; the new country of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) is recognised by India. June 1953. Benazir Bhutto is born on June 21, 1953. June 1947. India gains independence from the UK; independent Pakistan is formed by "partition" from India. June 1947. The provinces of Bengal and the Punjab decide in favour of "partition", agreeing to be split between India and Pakistan. The NWFP calls for independence. article March 1936. Sir Shah Nawaz Khan Bhutto (grandfather of Benazir Bhutto) is appointed to the Advisory Council for the Sind region of India.
Search the Archive
