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

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