Pakistan
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Pakistan 2005
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Bangladesh 1992
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1757 - Britain defeated Mughal forces in Bengal after the Battle of Plassey; the beginning of British rule in India.
1857 - Sepoy Mutiny by Indian nationalists began First War of Independence.
1885 - Indian National Congress established.
1893 - The Durand Line established the boundary between Afghanistan and British India.
1906 - The Muslim League was founded to promote Muslim separatism from India.
1940 - Muslim League adopted "Pakistan Resolution" demanding separate nation for Muslims of India. Muslim League leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah promoted the "Two Nations Theory"
1947 - Muslim state of East and West Pakistan created out of partition of India at the end of British rule. Hundreds of thousands died in widespread communal violence and millions were made homeless.
1948 - In October, the first war with India began over disputed territory of Kashmir. In September, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, the first governor general of Pakistan, died.
1949 - In January, United Nations negotiated a cease-fire between Pakistan and India.
1951 - Jinnah's successor Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated.
1956 - Constitution proclaimed Pakistan an Islamic republic.
1958 - Martial law declared and General Ayyub Khan took over.
1960 - General Ayyub Khan became president.
1965 - Second war with India over Kashmir.
1969 - General Ayyub Khan resigned and General Yahya Khan took over.
1970 - The separatist Awami League under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founded in 1949, won elections in East Pakistan. The government of Yahya Khan in West Pakistan refuses to recognise the results, leading to rioting. Cyclone hits East Pakistan - up to 500,000 people are killed.
1971 - East Pakistan attempted to secede, leading to civil war. India intervened in support of East Pakistan which eventually separated to become Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujib arrested and taken to West Pakistan. In exile, Awami League leaders proclaim the independence of the province of East Pakistan on 26th March. The new country is called Bangladesh. Just under 10 million Bangladeshis flee to India as troops from West Pakistan are defeated with Indian assistance. Sheikh Mujib returned in 1972, became prime minister, began a program of nationalizing key industries in an attempt to improve living standards, but with little success. In 1975, Sheikh Mujib became president of Bangladesh. The political situation worsened. He was assassinated in a military coup in August. Martial law was imposed.
1972 - Simla peace agreement with India set new frontline in Kashmir.
1973 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto became prime minister.
1977 - Riots erupted over allegations of vote-rigging by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP). General Zia ul-Haq staged military coup.
1978 - General Zia became president.
1979 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto hanged.
1980 - US pledged military assistance to Pakistan following Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.
1985 - Martial law and political parties ban lifted.
1986 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's daughter Benazir returned from exile to lead PPP in campaign for fresh elections.
1988 - In August, General Zia, the US ambassador and top Pakistan army officials died in mysterious air crash. In November, Benazir Bhutto's PPP won general election.
1990 - Benazir Bhutto dismissed as prime minister on charges of incompetence and corruption.
1991 - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif began liberal economic program. Islamic Shariah law formally incorporated into legal code.
1992 - Government launched campaign to stamp out violence by Urdu-speaking supporters of the Mohajir Quami Movement.
1993 - President Khan and Prime Minister Sharif both resigned under pressure from military. General election brought Benazir Bhutto back to power.
1996 - President Leghari dismissed Bhutto government amid corruption allegations.
1997 - Nawaz Sharif returnedas prime minister after his Pakistan Muslim League party won elections.
1998 - Pakistan conducted its own nuclear tests after India exploded several devices.
1999 - In April, Benazir Bhutto and her husband were convicted of corruption and given jail sentences. Benazir stayed out of the country. In May, Pakistan-backed forces clashed with the Indian military in the icy heights around Kargil in Indian-held Kashmir. More than 1,000 people were killed on both sides. In October, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was overthrown in military coup led by General Pervez Musharraf. Coup was widely condemned, Pakistan was suspended from Commonwealth.
2000 - In April, Nawaz Sharif sentenced to life imprisonment on hijacking and terrorism charges. In December, Nawaz Sharif went into exile in Saudi Arabia after being pardoned by military authorities.
2001 - On June 20, Gen Pervez Musharraf made himself president while remaining head of the army. He replaced the figurehead president, Rafiq Tarar, who vacated his position earlier in the day after the parliament that elected him was dissolved. In July, Musharraf met Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in the first summit between the two neighbours in more than two years. The meeting ended without a breakthrough or even a joint statement because of differences over Kashmir. After September 11, Musharraf supported the US in its fight against terrorism and its invasion of Afghanistan. US lifted some sanctions imposed after Pakistan's nuclear tests in 1998, but retained others put in place after Musharraf's coup. In October, India fired on Pakistani military posts in the heaviest firing along the dividing line of control in Kashmir for almost a year. In December, India imposed sanctions against Pakistan, to force it to take action against two Kashmir militant groups blamed for a suicide attack on parliament in New Dehli. Pakistan retaliated with similar sanctions. India, Pakistan massed troops along common border amid mounting fears of a looming war.
2002 - In January, President Musharraf banned two militant groups, the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad, and took steps to curb religious extremism. Musharraf announced that elections would be held in October to end three years of military rule. In April, Musharraf won another five years in office in a referendum criticised as unconstitutional and tainted with irregularities. In May, 14 people, including 11 French technicians, were killed in a suicide attack on a bus in Karachi. The following month 12 people were killed in a suicide attack outside the US consulate in the city. Pakistan test fired three medium-range surface-to-surface Ghauri missiles, which were capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Musharraf told his nation that Pakistan doesn't want war but is ready to respond with full force if attacked. In June, Britain and USA launched a diplomatic offensive to avert war, urged their citizens to leave India and Pakistan. In August, President Musharraf granted himself sweeping new powers, including the right to dismiss an elected parliament. Opposition forces accused Musharraf of perpetuating dictatorship. In October, the first general election since the 1999 military coup resulted in a hung parliament. Parties haggled over the make-up of a coalition. Religious parties fared better than expected. In November, Mir Zafarullah Jamali was selected as prime minister by the National Assembly, the first civilian premier since the 1999 military coup and a member of a party close to General Musharraf.
2003 - In February, the ruling party won most seats in voting to the upper house. Elections were said to be final stage of what President Musharraf called transition to democracy. In June, North-West Frontier Province voted to introduce Sharia law. In November, Pakistan declared a Kashmir ceasefire, which was swiftly matched by India. In December, Pakistan and India agreed to resume direct air links and to allow overflights of each other's planes from beginning of 2004 after two-year ban.
2004 - In February, leading nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan admitted to having leaked nuclear weapons secrets. Technology was said to have been transferred to Libya, North Korea and Iran. In April, Parliament approved creation of military-led National Security Council. Move institutionalised role of armed forces in civilian affairs. In May, Pakistan readmitted to Commonwealth. In June, military offensive near Afghan border against suspected al-Qaeda militants and their supporters after attacks on checkpoints. Earlier offensive, in March, left more than 120 dead. In August, Shaukat Aziz was sworn in as prime minister. In July he escaped unhurt from an apparent assassination attempt. In December, President Musharraf said he would stay on as head of the army having previously promised to relinquish the role.
2005 - In January, tribal militants in Baluchistan attacked facilities at Pakistan's largest natural gas field, forcing closure of main plant. On April 7, bus services, the first in 60 years, operated between Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-administered Kashmir and Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir. In August, Pakistan tested its first, nuclear-capable cruise missile. On October 8, an earthquake, with its epicentre in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, killed tens of thousands of people. The city of Muzaffarabad was among the worst-hit areas.
2006 - In January, up to 18 people were killed in a US missile strike, apparently targeting senior al-Qaeda figures, on a border village in the north. In February, more than 30 people were killed in a suspected suicide bomb attack and ensuing violence at a Shia Muslim procession in the north-west. In April, a suspected double suicide bombing killed at least 57 people at a Sunni Muslim ceremony in Karachi.
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