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| | | Pakistan was originally part of Afghanistan and India | |
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| | 1940 | Muhammad Ali Jinnah demanded that a new country be formed from India for the Muslims, which would be called Pakistan | |
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| | 1945 | August: World War 2 ended when United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki | |
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| | 1946 | The British government agreed to grant India independence | |
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| | 1946 | 16 August: Indian Muslims held nation-wide demonstrations calling for the establishment of Pakistan | |
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| | 1947 | British and Indian leaders agreed to divide the country into India and Pakistan 15 August 1947 India became independent | |
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| | 1947 | 30 January: Gandhi was assassinated | |
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| | 1948 | Pakistan was born and Muhammad Ali Jinnah became Governor-General Liaquat Ali Khan becomes Prime Minister Pakistan and India immediately came into dispute over the territory of Kashmir and Afghanistan From 1947 - 1971 the nation consisted of Muslim-majority West Pakistan and East Pakistan, separated from one another by Hindu-majority India Jinnah dies; Khwaja Nazimuddin becomes governor-general | |
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| | 1951 | Liaquat assassinated and Nazimuddin becomes Prime Minister | |
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| | 1956 | Pakistan Constitution adopted Mirza becomes president | |
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| | 1965 | Second war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and Afghanistan | |
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| | 1971 | East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh | |
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| | 1971 | Third war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and Afghanistan | |
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| | 1972 | Bhutto and India's prime minister Indira Gandhi sign Simla agreement | |
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| | 1979 | Islamic penal code introduced and Bhutto is hanged | |
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| | 1988 | Benazir Bhutto sworn in as first woman prime minister of a Muslim nation | |
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| | 1990 | Nawaz Sharif elected prime minister | |
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| | 1993 | Benazir becomes prime minister | |
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| | 1996 | President Farooq Leghari dismisses Benazir Bhutto | |
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| | 1997 | National elections held and Sharif comes to power again | |
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| | 1998 | Pakistan tested its first nuclear device. | |
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