Key dates in Pervez Musharraf's innings as Pakistan Army
Chief, President and beyond:
October 7, 1998: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appoints
Musharraf chief of army staff.
May 2, 1999: Pakistani troops infiltrate into Kargil
sector in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to a 60-day conflict that
ends after Sharif orders Musharraf to withdraw under US
pressure.
October 12, 1999: Musharraf takes power in a bloodless
coup, deposing elected prime minister Sharif, after he sacks
him as army chief.
May 13, 2000: Supreme Court validates coup.
December, 2000: Sharif, who was slapped hijacking and
corruption charges, is freed from prison, exiled to Saudi
Arabia and banned from returning to Pakistan for 10 years.
June 20, 2001: Musharraf declares himself president after
the incumbent, Mohammad Rafiq Tarar, resigns.
September 11, 2001: Musharraf drops support for Taliban
and allies Pakistan with Washington after 9/11 attacks.
April 30, 2002: Musharraf wins controversial national
referendum on his rule.
October 10, 2002: Pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q
wins general elections.
November 16, 2002: Musharraf sworn in for a fresh
five-year term.
December, 2003: Musharraf escapes two assassination
attempts, one by Islamist military officers and the other by
al-Qaeda.
January 1, 2004: Musharraf wins parliamentary vote of
confidence affirming his unelected rule until 2007.
December 30, 2004: Musharraf reneges on promise to quit
as Army Chief.
March 9, 2007: Musharraf sacks Chief Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry, sparking protests. Chaudhry reinstated by
Supreme Court in July.
July 10, 2007: Pakistani troops storm the radical Red
Mosque in Islamabad, killing scores.
October 6, 2007: Parliament elects Musharraf to another
five-year term as President in a vote boycotted by the
opposition.
October 18, 2007: Benazir Bhutto returns from exile.
November 3, 2007: Musharraf imposes state of emergency,
sacks chief justice and other judges of the higher judiciary,
suspends Constitution.
November 25, 2007: Sharif returns from exile.
November 28, 2007: Musharraf steps down as army chief and
hands control of military to General Ashfaq Kayani. He remains
as civilian president.
December 15, 2007: Musharraf lifts state of emergency.
December 27, 2007: Bhutto assassinated at election rally.
February 18, 2008: Parties of Bhutto and Sharif trounce
Musharraf's allies in General Elections.
March 24, 2008: Parliament elects Bhutto aide Yousaf Raza
Gilani as prime minister.
August 7, 2008: Coalition says Musharraf to face
impeachment.
August 18, 2008: Musharraf announces his resignation.
March 16, 2009: Iftikhar M Chaudhry reinstated as Chief
Justice by President Asif Ali Zardari.
Jul 22, 2009: Supreme Court asks Musharraf to appear
before it and issues notice to him to explain his action of
imposing emergency and deposing judges.
Jul 31, 2009: Supreme Court declares imposition of
emergency and sacking of judges by Musharraf as
unconstituional.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, August 01, 2009, 00:00