TIMELINE OF PAKISTAN



1947: Pakistan is born; Muhammad Ali Jinnah becomes governor-general of the new nation; Liaquat Ali Khan becomes Prime Minister



1948: Jinnah dies; Khwaja Nazimuddin becomes governor-general



1951: Liaquat assassinated; Nazimuddin becomes Prime Minister



1955: Governor-General Ghulam Mohammad resigns, succeeded by Iskander Mirza



1956  Constitution adopted; Mirza becomes president



1958  Mirza abrogates Constitution, declares martial law; Mirza sent into exile; General Mohammad Ayub Khan assumes presidency



1965  Second war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir



1969: Martial law declared; Ayub Khan resigns; General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan assumes presidency



1970  First general elections; Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami League secures absolute majority in new National Assembly; West Pakistan-dominated government declines to convene assembly



1971  East Pakistan attempts to secede; civil war begins; Bangladesh declares itself independent issued; India intervenes on behalf of Bengali separatists; Pakistani military surrenders to Indian armed forces; Yahya Khan resigns; Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto becomes president of Pakistan



1972: Bhutto and India's prime minister Indira Gandhi sign Simla agreement which adjusts cease-fire line between the two countries and creates new Line of Control



1973: New constitution goes into effect; Bhutto becomes prime minister



1976: Diplomatic ties established between Pakistan and Bangladesh



1977: General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq proclaims martial law



1978: Zia becomes Pakistan's sixth president



1979 Islamic penal code introduced; Bhutto hanged



1983: Zia announces that martial law will be lifted, says army will retain key role in future governments



1985: General elections held



1988: Zia dismisses Prime Minister Mohammmad Khan Junejo's government, orders new elections; Zia killed in mysterious place crash; investigation concludes that his death was caused by "criminal act of sabotage;" elections held; Benazir Bhutto sworn in as first woman prime minister of a Muslim nation



1990: National elections see Benazir Bhutto's PPP losing to coalition of rightist parties; Nawaz Sharif elected prime minister



1993: President Ishaq Khan dismisses Sharif's government, citing corruption; elections held; Benazir Bhutto's government wins slim margin; Benazir becomes prime minister



1996: President Farooq Leghari dismisses Benazir Bhutto; accuses her government of corruption and nepotism



1997: National elections held; Sharif comes to power again



1999: General Pervaiz Musharraf proclaims martial law and goes on to become Pakistan's president



2007: Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto return to Pakistan to participate in General Election. Benazir Bhutto assassinated on Dec 27 during a rally.