This is a timeline of Pakistani history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Pakistan and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Pakistan. See also the list of Presidents of Pakistan and list of Prime Ministers of Pakistan and the list of years in Pakistan.
Although the modern day Pakistan, the land of Indus, emerged on the world map as a new nation-state in 1947 this area has a very long history that goes back over thousands of years and it is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited regions. The Indus Valley was known as Meluhha in Mesopotamia when the Harappan civilization was thriving here. When the Aryan tribes came and settled down in the upper Indus valley in the middle of the second millennium BC they called it Sapta-Sindhu (the land of seven rivers). Now this Indus land is called Pakistan which is an acronym composed from the initial letters of the name of its provinces namely, Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Indus, Sindh and the last three letters of Balochistan.
2,000,000 BC: In Riwat, dating at this period, stones implementations (tools) have been found at the site, proposing a possibility of earlier homo erectus existence
1,600,000 BC: A stone artifact is discovered in Riwat, dated to this period
500,000 BC: Some of the earliest relics of Stone Age man have been found in the Soan Valley of the Potohar region near Rawalpindi, dating back to 500,000 BCE
9000 BC - 5500 BC: Mehrgarh Period I
5500 BC - 4800 BC: Mehrgarh Period II
4800 BC - 3500 BC: Mehrgarh Period III
3500 BC - 2800 BC: Mehrgarh Periods IV to VI
2800 BC - 2000 BC: Mehrgarh Period VII
2800 BC - 2500 BC: Early Harappan / Kot Diji Phase
2500 BC - 1900 BC: Harappan Phase; Flourishment of Indus Valley Civilization at urban centres, Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa
1900 BC - 1300 BC: Late Harappan Phase (Cemetery H Culture)
1700 BC - 0600 BC: Start of the Aryan civilization in Sapta Sindhu, Punjab and of Indus culture, Rigvedic civilization the day of Pakistan
1500 BC: Earliest verses of Rig-Veda were written in the Indus Valley (Pakistan)
516 BC: Pakistan becomes easternmost part of Achaemenid Empire of Persia. Gandharais semi-independent kingdom
500 BC: Gandhara civilization (500 BC to 500 AD)
327 BC - 325 BC: Alexander of Macedonia invades Pakistan and captures Taxila
326 BC: Porus, the king of Punjab, fought the battle of the Hydaspes River against the Macedonian king Alexander.
325 BC: During the siege of the capital of the Mallians (modern Multan), Alexander was seriously wounded by an arrow in the chest.
300 BC: Mauryan empire, Ashoka promotes Buddhism
185 BC: Bactrian Greeks conquer North-West Pakistan
75 BC: Arrival of Scythians (Sakas) from central Asia
20: Parthians conquer present Northern Pakistan area
60: Kushans from central Asia overthrow Parthians
3rd Century: Kushans decline and are dominated by Sassanian empire of Persia
4th Century: Kidar (little) Kushans come to power
450: White Huns (Hephthalites) attacked Gandhara, sacked its cities and burnt down its many monasteries and centres of learning
565: Sassanians and Turks overthrow Huns
Late 6th –7th Century: Turki Shahi control area West of Indus, including Gandhara
711 - 712: Muhammad bin Qasim conquers Sindh and Southern Punjab
870 - 1026: Hindu Shahi ruled from Multan to Kabul
1001: Mahmud Ghazni defeats the Hindu Shahi king Jayapala (A Janjua Rajput) near Peshawar
1021: Mahmud Ghazni defeats Tarnochalpal and annexes Punjab
1058: Soomra Dynasty, Soomro period from 1058 to 1351 ends the Arab domination and establishes its own rule over Sindh.
1148 - 1206: Ghaurids Period
1206: A body of Khokhars assassinated Muhammad Ghori during a raid on his camp on the Jhelum River
1221: Mongol Genghis Khan invades Punjab
1351: Samma Dynasty assumed rule over Sindh
1398: Tamerlane plunders Lahore
1472: Sher Shah Suri (original name Farid Khan born in Multan)
1526 - 1857: Mughal ascendancy (1526–1707), nominal rule by Mughals (1707–1857)
1541 - 1545: Sher Shah Suri built the Rohtas Fort
1586: Yusufzais defeat Akbar in the Karakar pass
1701: Kalhoro Dynasty establishes its rule over Sindh
1739: Nadir Shah of Persia invades Mughal Empire
1751-52: Ahmed Shah Abdali annexes Punjab to his kingdom
1782: The Baloch tribe of Talpur defeats the last Kalhora ruler Mian Abdul Nabi in the battle of Halani
12 April 1801— 27 June 1839: Sikhs become dominant force in Punjab, Ranjit Singh rules (1799–1839),
1843: British defeat Talpurs in the battle of Miani and annex Sindh
29 March 1849: British defeat Sikhs and annex Punjab
1 November 1857 The British control most present-day Pakistan region and incorporate it as part of the British Indian Empire.
30 December 1906: A new political party All-India Muslim League formed to protect rights of Muslims in British Indian Empire.
1909: Muhammad Ali Jinnah was elected to the Legislative Council in 1909
1913: Prominent Muslim leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah, acknowledging that Hindu dominant Indian Congress failing to protect Indian Muslim rights, joined the All India Muslim League (AIML). Now he was member of both the political parties, later became leader of the All-India Muslim League and instrumental in the creation of Pakistan.
1920: Having disagreement with Gandhi on the issue of Swaraj (self-rule), complete freedom from the British and on using extra-constitutional means, Jinnah resigned from the Congress in 1920
29 December 1930: Dr. Muhammad Allama Iqbal, a great Muslim philosopher and poet suggested creation of separate Muslim state in Indian sub-continent to protect Muslim population dominated by Hindu majority.
31 May 1935: A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 jolted Quetta killing over 50,000 people
14 August 1947: Pakistan is created.
11 September 1948: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first governor general of Pakistan, passes away.
16 October 1951: Prime minister Liaqat Ali Khan assassinated.
1956: The Constituent Assembly promulgates first indigenous constitution
1956: Constituent Assembly decides the country shall be a Federal Republic known as Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
7 October 1958: After a military coup dictorial Ayub Khan takes over.
1960: Ayub Khan becomes first elected president
1 August 1960: Islamabad is declared as the principal seat of the Government of Pakistan.
In 1962 the second temporary constitution was made which didn't last long and ended soon till the final Constitution of Pakistan was made in 1973.
2 January 1964: Fatima Jinnah lost the presidential elections, Ayub completes the second term.
6 September 1965: Second war between Pakistan and India over Kashmir.
10 January: Pakistan and Republic of India sign agreement to end hostilities.
30 November: Pakistan Peoples Party founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Lahore.
25 March 1969: Ayub Khan resigns; Yahya Khan declares martial law and assumes presidency.
7 December 1970: Pakistani general election, 1970 were held on 7 December 1970, although the polls in East Pakistan, originally scheduled for October, were delayed by disastrous floods and rescheduled for later in December and January 1971.
1971: East Pakistan attempts to secede, leading to civil war; India intervenes in support of East Pakistanis; Pakistan fights another war with India; East Pakistan breaks away to become Bangladesh;
20 December 1971: Yahya Khan resigns.
1972: Karachi labour unrest of 1972 and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto becomes president.
14 August 1973: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto becomes prime minister.
7 March 1977: Pakistani general election, 1977
5 July 1977: General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq overthrows prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and declares martial law.
16 September 1978: General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq becomes Pakistan's sixth president.
4 April 1979: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto hanged.
1979: The military ruler Zia Ul-Haq enacts the controversial Hudood Ordinances.
28 February 1985: General elections held; Muhammad Khan Junejo becomes prime minister.
10 March 1985 Hassan Sardar born
1988: Army ammunition blown up in Ojheri camp, Rawalpindi; more than 100 people die.
1988: Zia dismisses Junejo's government; Zia dies in a plane crash; New elections held; Benazir Bhutto becomes prime minister
20 January 1988: Prominent Pashtun leader Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan dies in Peshawar.
30 September 1988: 1988 Hyderabad massacre
16 November 1988: Pakistani general election, 1988
6 August 1990: President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismisses Benazir Bhutto government; Mian Nawaz Sharif becomes the next prime minister
24 October 1990: Pakistani general election, 1990
1991: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif begins economic liberalisation programme. Islamic Shariah law formally incorporated into legal code.
18 July 1993: President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif both resign under pressure from military. Benazir Bhutto becomes prime minister for the second time.
5 November 1996: President Farooq Leghari dismisses Bhutto government.
3 February 1997: Pakistani general election, 1997, Nawaz Sharif becomes prime minister for the second time.
28 May 1998: Pakistan conducts nuclear tests.
12 October 1999: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif overthrown in military coup led by General Pervez Musharraf.
october 17 naw sharef exailed
20 June: General Pervez Musharraf dismissed the president and named himself to the post.
15 July: Agra Summit starts. President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee holds talks over long-standing issues.
14 August: New Local Government system installed, after holding of elections in three phases.
16 September: US Secretary of State Powell told that Pakistan's President Musharraf had agreed to support the U.S. anti-terrorist campaign.
10 November: US President Bush meets President Musharraf in New York and assures additional aid of one billion dollars.
5 January: Musharraf stunned Vajpayee by a hand-shake at the last 11th SAARC summit in Kathmandu.
1 February: Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl killed in Karachi.
16 March: War in North-West Pakistan begins.
30 April: General Pervez Musharraf wins a referendum thus ensures 5 more years in office.
8 May: 2002 Karachi bus bombing, 15 killed.
24 August: President General Musharraf issues the Legal Framework Order 2002.
10 October: Pakistani general election, 2002, First general elections since the 1999 military coup held.
23 November: Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali sworn in as Prime Minister.
24 February: Senate elections: Ruling party wins most seats in voting to the upper house.
23 March: AAJ TV, Pakistan's premier channel inaugurated.
24 June: President Pervez Musharraf meets G.W. Bush in Camp David. US announces $3-billion five-year economic assistance package for Pakistan.
4 July: 2003 Quetta mosque bombing, 44 killed.
11 July: Lahore-Delhi bus service resumed after suspension of 18 months.
14 December: General Musharraf survived an assassination attempt in Rawalpindi.
1 January: General Musharraf won a vote of confidence in the Senate, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies.
5 January: Musharraf meets Vajpayee in Islamabad, discusses Kashmir dispute.
22 May: Pakistan readmitted to Commonwealth.
26 June: Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali steps down and nominates Ch. Shujaat Hussain as his interim successor.
28 August: Shaukat Aziz becomes Prime Minister.
17 October: Pakistani physician Dr.Muhammad Saeed Fazal Karim Beebani sets new world record for having the smallest Holy Qur'an of the world. His claim was accepted by Guinness world record administration.
3-11 July: Siege of Lal Masjid
19 October: 2007 Karsaz bombing, 180 killed.
4 September: September 2007 bombings in Rawalpindi, 25 killed.
27 December: Benazir Bhutto assassinated, aged 54. (b. 1953)
9 February: 2008 Charsadda bombing, 27 killed.
6 July: 2008 Lal Masjid bombing, 18 policeman killed and 1 civilian.
18 August: Pervez Musharraf resigns.
21 August: 2008 Wah bombing, 70 killed.
27 March: 2009 Jamrud mosque bombing, 48–70 killed.
4 April: 2009 Islamabad Frontier Corps post bombing, 5 killed.
5 April: 2009 Chakwal mosque bombing, more than 30 killed.
9 June: Pearl Continental hotel bombing, 17 killed.
20 October: 2009 International Islamic University bombing, 4 killed.
2 November: November 2009 Rawalpindi bombing, 35 killed.
4 December: December 2009 Rawalpindi attack, 40 killed.
10 January: January 2010 Bajaur bombing, 16 killed.
3 February: February 2010 Lower Dir bombing, 8 killed.
5 February: February 2010 Karachi bombings, 25 killed.
18 February: February 2010 Khyber mosque bombing, 30 killed.
12 March: Lahore church bombings, more than 72 killed.
5 April: April 2010 U.S consulate and ANP attack, 50 killed.
5 April: 2010 Timergarah bombings, 46 killed.
17 April: April 2010 Kohat bombings, 58 killed.
19 April: 19 April 2010 Peshawar bombing. 25 killed.
28 May: 2010 Ahmadiyya mosques massacre, 87 killed.
1 July: July 2010 Lahore bombings, 50 killed.
9 July: Mohmand Agency bombing, 104 killed.
1 September: September 2010 Lahore bombings, 38 killed.
3 September: September 2010 Quetta bombing, 73 killed.
5 November: 2010 Darra Adam Khel mosque bombing, 66 killed.
25 December: December 2010 Bajaur bombing, 47 killed.
3 April: 2011 Dera Ghazi Khan bombings, more than 50 killed.
12 June: June 2011 Peshawar bombings, more than 34 were killed.
19 August: 2011 Khyber Agency bombing, more than 48 killed.
10 January: January 2013 Pakistan bombings, 130 killed.
7 May: 7 May 2013 Syed Janan election rally bombing, 18-25 killed.
11 May: Pakistani general election, 2013
15 June: June 2013 Quetta attacks, 26 killed.
18 June: 2013 Mardan funeral bombing, 28 killed.
21 June: 2013 Peshawar mosque bombing, 15 killed.
8 August: August 2013 Quetta bombing, 31 killed.
22 September: Peshawar church bombing, 127 killed.
29 September: Qissa Khawani Bazaar bombing, 41 killed.
7 January: Aitzaz Hasan died between Preventing suicide bomber attack at his school in Hangu District, sacrificed his own life to save the lives of hundreds of his mates.
19 January: 2014 Bannu bombing, 26 killed.
19 January: 2014 Rawalpindi suicide bombing, 14 killed.
2–11 February: 2014 Peshawar cinema bombings, 13 killed.
3 March: Islamabad court attack, 11 killed.
2 November: 2014 Wagah border suicide attack, 60 killed.
16 Deecember: 2014 Peshawar school massacre, 148 killed.
13 February: 2015 Peshawar mosque attack, 19 killed.
15 March: Lahore church bombings, 19 killed.
23 October: 2015 Jacobabad bombing, 22 killed.
20 January: Bacha Khan University attack, 20 killed.
16 March: 2016 Peshawar bus bombing, 15 killed
27 March: 2016 Lahore suicide bombing, 75 killed.
16 September: 2016 September Pakistan mosque bombing, 36 killed.
24 October: 2016 Peshawar bus bombing, 62 killed.
12 November: 2016 Khuzdar bombing, 47 killed.
2017 Pakistan Super League is expected to begin.
pakistans people court naw shareef vs irman khan
May: In second week of May, 2018 Pakistani general election, 2018 are possibly.
