Pakistan

INDIA UNDER DIRECT RULE

India after the Sepoy Rebellion as a British colony

August 1858 After the failed Sepoy Rebellion the British instituted direct rule over India. Before that the British East India Company was in control. The British company rule was now over and a new era of the British colonies were in effect.

Pakistan becomes a country

Part of the Pakistani Flag

August 1947After the British pull out of India, Pakistan becomes its own country. Pakistan is made up of a mostly Muslim majority while India consists of a Hindu majority. Pakistan is also divided into East and West Pakistan.

First conflict over Kashmir

1947-1948

Map of the Kashmir, Pakistan and India

The first conflict over the Kashmir lands consisted of four wars for the control of the lands. The Kashmir is still being fought over today between these two countries and is a reason for much of the hate between the two. This first conflict however is important because it was fought over the year that both countries were sovereign countries.

Martial Law Declared

1958

General Ayub Khan declares martial law and later becomes President of Pakistan

Martial Law was declared in 1958 which is important because this happened about ten years after they had become a country. This shows the weak leadership of the time and a trend in which the constitution is set aside and martial law takes over. This instance is the first of three times in which martial law is declared in Pakistan.

The Struggle for East Pakistan

1971

People of East Pakistan being held up by West Pakistani soldiers

Pakistan as stated earlier was separated into two different sections East and West. East Pakistan had elected the Prime Minister of Pakistan however the leader of West Pakistan said he would not allow the Prime Minister elect to become Prime Minister. Then West Pakistan attacked but the day after they invaded they declared their independence and called the country Bangladesh. In the end Bangladesh won the war and became a sovereign nation.

Pakistan Conducts Nuclear Test

A photo taken during Pakistan's first nuclear test

1998Pakistan tests their first nuclear

bomb in May 1998 shortly after India tests theirs. China had helped Pakistan with their nuclear program and had showed them a Proxy test in the 1980’s. The United States had also tried to safe guard the secrets which cost $100 million with us providing things like helicopters and night vision goggles.

A New President

General Mursharraf takes power and becomes President in 2001

2001General Mursharraf takes power in 2001 and he literally just takes it. He formally appoints himself the President of Pakistan and then holds the office for quite some time. He also declares martial law two more times as president as was before the President of Pakistan a General in the Pakistani Army. He also spoke out against extremism which was not welcomed with the people of Pakistan and he was not very popular after that speech.

Another Conflict in Kashmir

On a boat in Kashmir

2001There is a conflict in the Kashmir

lands again. It seems however that this time it was India who had attacked Pakistan but this had raised tensions on both sides which is not good because both sides has nuclear bombs. This conflict seems to being with Indian troops firing on a Pakistani military post along the dividing line of the Kashmir.

Fear of War

2001The incident in the Kashmir

had led to both sides building up a mass of troops and arms. This is a bad thing because both sides were ready to go at any minute. Tensions were unusually high because of the agreements that were not agreed upon between both countries Prime Ministers.

Dictatorship?

Showing Musharraf as a potential dictator.

2002Mursharraf had given himself

more power which makes other people wonder if he is going to turn Pakistan into a dictatorship. The powers that he gives himself are the powers to dismiss parliament which makes him seem as an all powerful dictator. He has given himself too much power and I think that he is showing the signs of a dictator here.

Ceasefire in Kashmir

The cartoon shows how ceasefires work, especially in Kashmir

2003Pakistan declares a ceasefire in

the Kashmir. But like all ceasefires in this region it is bound to come back up again with one side blaming the other that they had violated the ceasefire. This is not the first ceasefire but probably the most important one for the Pakistani government because they were the ones who called it.

An attempt on Musharraf’s life

A photo of the bridge that was bombed and meant to kill Musharraf

2003In 2003 there is an attempted assassination on Musharrafs life though it is not the first one it was the closest to killing him. His car was going over a bridge which had a bomb under it and his car went over the bridge on the other side when the bomb went off and destroyed part of the bridge. This was the closest assassination to attempt so far.

Secrets Out

A picture of Dr. Abdul

2004In 2004 the nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan had confessed that he had given nuclear secrets from Pakistan to Iran, North Korea and Libya. This is a scary thought because he put the worlds national security in his hands. He was not put into jail but later he was put under house arrest.

Atrocity at Red Mosque

A explosion at Red Mosque.

2007This atrocity had ended up with at least 1000 people dying in the aftermath. This had to do with some officials who had not gotten what they had negotiated and so they had to stormed the mosque and killed thousands of people. This was one of the most horrific event s because of a place of worship was besieged and destroyed.

Pause in Peace?

A picture of the Indian Cricket Team

2008There was a “pause” in peace near the end of the year last year with India thinking that people from Pakistan had destroyed Mumbai. This might have lead to the Indian Cricket team deciding not to tour Pakistan. That tour schedule had lead to thousands of lost dollars in Pakistan.

Websites Used

"Timeline: Pakistan's Year of Chaos - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News." SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten. 31 Jan. 2009 <http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,525571,00.html>.

"Pakistan Timeline." BBC. BBC News. 31 Jan. 2009 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1156716.stm>.

In Depth Pakistan." CBC. CBC News. 31 Jan. 2009 <http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/pakistan/>.