Pakistan: At the Helm

342 Pages·2018·1.9 MB·English

by  Tilak Devasher

For
Anjali
Dhruv, Arati, Madhavi and Will
Contents
Pakistan: A Timeline of Events
Preface
Introduction
1. End of the Raj: The Last Hurrah
2. Muhammad Ali Jinnah: Quaid-i-Azam
3.1. Ayub Khan I: Unchartered Waters
3.2. Ayub Khan II: 1965—A Bridge Too Far
4.1. Yahya Khan I: Unsteady Hands
4.2. Yahya Khan II: 1971—How Not to Fight a War
5.1. Z.A. Bhutto I: Picking Up the Pieces
5.2. Z.A. Bhutto II: The Arrogance of Power
6. Zia-ul-Haq: A Chess Player in a Nation of Cricketers
7. Benazir Bhutto: Paradise Lost
8. Nawaz Sharif: The Comeback Kid
9. Pervez Musharraf: Shoot and Scoot
Notes
About the Book
About the Author
Praise for Pakistan: Courting the Abyss
Copyright
Pakistan: A Timeline of Events
14 August
Creation of Pakistan.
1947:
22
October ‘Raiders’ from Pakistan invade Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
1947:
11
SeptemberMuhammad Ali Jinnah dies.
1948:
1 January
UNSC Ceasefire in J&K.
1949:
17
January Ayub Khan appointed as commander-in-chief (C-in-C).
1951:
16
October Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan assassinated in Rawalpindi.
1951:
23 March Constitution is promulgated. Iskander Mirza sworn in as first
1956: president of Pakistan.
Constitution abrogated by President Iskander Mirza, martial law
7 October
imposed, Gen. Ayub Khan made chief martial law administrator,
1958:
political parties banned.
24
October Ayub Khan named prime minister.
1958:
27
Ayub Khan deposes Iskander Mirza and assumes power.
Ayub Khan deposes Iskander Mirza and assumes power.
October
1958:
27
October Ayub Khan promotes himself as field marshal.
1959:
17
February Ayub Khan becomes president.
1960:
24
January Z.A. Bhutto becomes foreign minister.
1963:
17
SeptemberFatima Jinnah files papers for presidential election.
1964:
2 January
Ayub Khan re-elected president.
1965:
April
Skirmishes in Rann of Kutch between India and Pakistan.
1965:
30 June
Pakistan and India sign accord on Rann of Kutch.
1965:
24 August
Infiltration begins in Kashmir under Operation Gibraltar.
1965:
6–22
SeptemberIndo-Pakistan war.
1965:
23
SeptemberCeasefire between India and Pakistan.
1965:
3 January Tashkent summit between Indian prime minister Lal Bahadur
1966: Shastri and Ayub Khan.
10
January Tashkent Declaration signed by India and Pakistan.
1966:
17 June
Z.A. Bhutto resigns as foreign minister.
1966:
17
SeptemberGen. Yahya Khan becomes C-in-C.
1966:
9 July
Fatima Jinnah dies in Karachi.
1967:
7
November Student demonstrations all over Pakistan.
1968:
25 March Ayub Khan steps down, hands over power to Gen. Yayha Khan.
1969: Martial law imposed.
7
First general elections held. Awami League and Pakistan Peoples
December
Party (PPP) emerge as leading parties in East and West Pakistan.
1970:
25/26
Operation Searchlight in Dhaka, beginning of brutal nine-month
March
crackdown in the then East Pakistan.
1971:
3
December Pakistan launches pre-emptive air strikes on India.
1971:
16
December Pakistan forces surrender in Dhaka, Bangladesh created.
1971:
20
Gen. Yahya Khan steps down and hands over power to Z.A. Bhutto
December
who takes over as president and chief martial law administrator.
1971:
2 July Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Prime Minister Bhutto sign peace
1972: accord in Simla, India.
21
February Pakistan recognizes Bangladesh.
1974:
1 March
Gen. Zia-ul-Haq becomes chief of army staff.
1976:
10
January Nine opposition parties form Pakistan National Alliance (PNA).
1977:
7 March
General elections: PPP wins 155, PNA thirty-five seats out of 200.
1977:
4 July
Gen. Zia-ul-Haq deposes Bhutto, declares martial law.
1977:
18 March Lahore High Court awards death sentence to Bhutto and four others
1978: in the Muhammad Kasuri murder case.
6
February Supreme Court upholds Bhutto’s conviction in murder case.
1978:
4 April
Bhutto is hanged.
1979:
25
February Non-party elections.
1985:
23 March
Muhammad Khan Junejo sworn in as prime minister.
1985:
10 April
Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan.
1986:
18
December Benazir Bhutto marries Asif Ali Zardari.
1987:
29 May Gen. Zia dismisses Prime Minister Junejo and dissolves the
1988: National Assembly.
17 August
Zia dies in plane crash near Bahawalpur.
1988:
6 October
Eight political parties form the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI).
1988:
16 General elections: Benazir Bhutto and her Pakistan Peoples Party
November win ninety-two seats out of 207; Nawaz Sharif-led IJI wins fifty-
1988: five seats.
2
December Benazir sworn in as prime minister.
1988:
13
December Ghulam Ishaq Khan elected president.