Pakistan: Suicide bombings follow mosque siege - timeline
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- May 2007. President Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf’s suspension of the chief justice of the supreme court leads to ongoing protests.
- March 2007. Protests by lawyers and resignations of judges and high-ranking officials follow President 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); the building of a fence along the Afghan border is considered by the government.
- 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.
- 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.
- Decmber 2003. Two attempts to assassinate Musharraf are foiled.
- October 2003. Pakistan’s army launches 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 wins an aid package from 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- October 1990. The Pakistan People's Party (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 had urged voters to shun the PPP, claiming it was not committed to “Islamic values”.
- 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.
- August 1988. Gen. Zia ul-Haq dies in aeroplane crash in uncertain circumstances.
- May 1988. Afghanistan, the Soviet Union, the USA, and Pakistan sign peace accords and the Soviet Union starts to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
- 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.
- 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.
- July 1977. Violent demonstrations erupt and an army coup is launched after the secular PPP decisively wins elections, which were 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.
- December 1971. India invades East Pakistan after Pakistani repression of the independence movement causes 9 million people to flee into India.
- September 1965. The second Indo-Pakistani War is fought in Kashmir.
- October 1958. Gen. Ayub Khan seizes power in coup d'etat and ends constitutional rule.
- March 1956. Pakistan adopts a republican constitution.
- June 1948. A refugee crisis follows the civil war and partition of the Punjab between India and Pakistan as Muslims flee India and Hindus flee Pakistan.
- 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.
