1. History of Pakistan

The history of Pakistan (Urdu: ????? ???????? ?) encompasses the history of the region constituting modern Pakistan. Prior to independence in 1947, the territory of modern Pakistan was a part of the British Indian Empire. Prior to that it was ruled in different periods by local kings and numerous imperial powers. The ancient history of the region comprising present-day Pakistan also includes some of the oldest of the names of empires of South Asia and some of its major civilizations.

In the 19th century, the land was incorporated into British India. Pakistan's political history began with the birth of the All India Muslim League in 1906 to protect "Muslim interests, amid neglect and under-representation" and to oppose Congress; in return the British Raj would decide to grant local self-rule. On 29 December 1930, philosopher Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for an autonomous new state in "northwestern India for Indian Muslims". The League rose to popularity in the late 1930s. Muhammad Ali Jinnah espoused the Two Nation Theory and led the League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940, demanding the formation of independent states in the East and the West of British India. Eventually, a successful movement led by Jinnah resulted in the partition of India and independence from Britain, on 14 August 1947.

On 12 March 1949, the second constituent assembly of Pakistan passed the Objectives Resolution which was proposed by the first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, proclaimed that the future constitution of Pakistan would not be modeled entirely on a European pattern, but on the ideology and democratic faith of Islam. The legislative elections in 1954 saw the Awami League coming to power and its leader Huseyn Suhrawardy becoming country's first Bengali Prime minister. Promulgation of Constitution in 1956 lead to Pakistan declaring itself Islamic republic (official name) with the adoption of parliamentary democratic system of government. The constitution transformed the Governor-General of Pakistan into President of Pakistan (as head of state). Subsequently, Iskander Mirza became the first president as well as first Bengali in 1956, but the democratic system was stalled after President Mirza imposed the military coup d'état and appointed Ayub Khan as an enforcer of martial law. Two weeks later, President Mirza was ousted by Ayub Khan; his presidency saw an era of internal instability and a second war with India in 1965. Economic grievances and political disenfranchisement in East Pakistan led to violent political tensions and armed repression, escalating into guerrilla war followed by the third war with India. Pakistan's defeat in the war ultimately led to the secession of East Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh.

2. Classical Period - Empire of Alexander the Great

After the defeat of the Persian Achaemenid empire, Alexander the Great, the Greek king from Macedonia, invaded the region of modern Pakistan and conquered much of the Punjab region. After defeating King Porus in the Battle of the Hydaspes (modern-day Jhelum), his battle weary troops refused to advance further into India to engage the army of Nanda Dynasty and its vanguard of trampling elephants. Alexander, therefore proceeded southwest along the Indus valley. Along the way, he engaged in several battles with smaller kingdoms before marching his army westward across the Makran desert towards what is now Iran. Alexander founded several new Macedonian and Greek settlements in Gandhara, Punjab and Sindh. During that time, many Greeks settled all over in Pakistan,[dubious – discuss] initiating interaction between the culture of Hellenistic Greece and the region's prevalent Hindu and Buddhist cultures.

After Alexander's death in 323 BC, his Diadochi (generals) divided the empire among themselves, with the Macedonian warlord Seleucus setting up the Seleucid Kingdom, which included the Indus plain.[31] Around 250 BCE, the eastern part of the Seleucid Kingdom broke away to form the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom.

Maurya Empire

Modern-day Pakistan was conquered by Chandragupta Maurya, who overthrew the powerful Nanda Dynasty of Magadha and established the Maurya Empire: He conquered the trans-Indus region to the west, which was under Macedonian rule - annexing Balochistan and much of what is now Afghanistan, including the modern Herat and Kandahar provinces - and then defeated the invasion led by Seleucus I, a Greek general from Alexander's army. Seleucus is said to have reached a peace treaty with Chandragupta by giving him control of the territory south of the Hindu Kush upon intermarriage as well as 500 elephants.

Alexander took these away from the Indo-Aryans and established settlements of his own, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus (Chandragupta), upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in exchange 500 elephants.

Emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara expanded the Empire into India's central and southern areas, while Ashoka pushed further into previously unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga (modern Odisha). With an area of 5,000,000 km2, the Maura Empire was one of the world's largest empires in its time, and the largest ever in the South Asia. At its greatest extent, the empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the Himalayas, and to the east stretching into what is now Assam province near the border with modern Myanmar (Burma).

3. Medieval Period

Further information: Battle of Rajasthan

Although soon after conquering the Middle East from the Byzantine empire and the Sassanid Empire, Arab forces had reached the present western regions of Pakistan, during the period of Rashidun caliphacy, it was in 712 CE that a young Arab general called Muhammad bin Qasim conquered most of the Indus region for the Umayyad empire, to be made the "As-Sindh" province with its capital at Al-Mansurah, 72 km (45 mi) north of modern Hyderabad in Sindh. But the instability of the empire and the defeat in various wars with north Indian and south Indian rulers including the Battle of Rajasthan, where the Hindu rulers like the south Indian Emperor Vikramaditya II of the Chalukya dynasty and Nagabhata of the Pratihara Dynasty defeated the Umayyad Arabs, they were contained till only Sindh and southern Punjab. There was gradual conversion to Islam in the south, especially amongst the native Hindu and Buddhist majority, but in areas north of Multan, Hindus and Buddhists remained numerous.[64] By the end of the 10th century CE, the region was ruled by several Hindu Shahi kings who would be subdued by the Ghaznavids.

Hindu Shahi

The Kabul Shahi dynasties ruled the Kabul Valley and Gandhara (modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan) from the decline of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century to the early 9th century.[65] The Shahis are generally split up into two eras: the Buddhist Shahis and the Hindu Shahis, with the change-over thought to have occurred sometime around 870. The kingdom was known as the Kabul Shahan or Ratbelshahan from 565-670, when the capitals were located in Kapisa and Kabul, and later Udabhandapura, also known as Hund for its new capital.

4. Mughal Empire

In 1526, Babur, a Timurid descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan from Fergana Valley (modern-day Uzbekistan), swept across the Khyber Pass and founded the Mughal Empire, covering modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The Mughals were descended from Central Asian Turks (with significant Mongol admixture). However, his son Humayun was defeated by the Pashtun warrior Sher Shah Suri who was from Bihar state of India, in the year 1540, and Humayun was forced to retreat to Kabul. After Sher Shah died, his son Islam Shah Suri became the ruler, on whose death his prime minister, Hemu ascended the throne and ruled North India from Delhi for one month. He was defeated by Emperor Akbar's forces in the Second Battle of Panipat on 6 November 1556.

Akbar the Great, was both a capable ruler and an early proponent of religious and ethnic tolerance and favored an early form of multiculturalism. He declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals in the holy days of Jainism and rolled back the jizya tax imposed upon non-Islamic mainly Hindu people. The Mughal dynasty ruled most of the South Asia by 1600. The Mughal emperors married local royalty and allied themselves with local maharajas. For a short time in the late 16th century, Lahore was the capital of the empire. The architectural legacy of the Mughals in Lahore includes the Shalimar Gardens built by the fifth Emperor Shahjahan, and the Badshahi Mosque built by the sixth Emperor, Aurangzeb, who is regarded as the last Great Mughal Emperor as he expanded the domain to its zenith. After his demise, different regions of modern Pakistan began asserting independence. The empire went into a slow decline after 1707 and its last sovereign, ruling around Delhi region.

5. Pakistan Movement - Early period of Pakistan Movement

In 1877, Syed Ameer Ali had formed the Central National Muhammadan Association to work towards the political advancement of the Indian Muslims, who had suffered grievously in 1857, in the aftermath of the failed Sepoy Mutiny against the East India Company; the British were seen as foreign invaders. But the organization declined towards the end of the 19th century.

In 1885, the Indian National Congress was founded as a forum, which later became a party, to promote a nationalist cause. Although the Congress attempted to include the Muslim community in the struggle for independence from the British rule - and some Muslims were very active in the Congress - the majority of Muslim leaders did not trust the party, viewing it as a "Hindu-dominated" organization.

A turning point came in 1900, when the British administration in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh acceded to Hindu demands and made Hindi, the version of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script, the official language. The proslytisation conducted in the region by the activists of a new Hindu reformist movement also stirred Muslim's concerns about their faith. Eventually, the Muslims feared that the Hindu majority would seek to suppress the rights of Muslims in the region following the departure of the British.

The Muslim League

The All-India Muslim League was founded on 30 December 1906, in the aftermath of division of Bengal, on the sidelines of the annual All India Muhammadan Educational Conference in Shahbagh, Dhaka. The meeting was attended by three thousand delegates and presided over by Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk. It addressed the issue of safeguarding interests of Muslims and finalised a programme. A resolution, moved by Nawab Salimullah and seconded by Hakim Ajmal Khan. Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk(conservative), declared:

6. Martial law in Pakistan (1969–1971)

Witnessing the events and tensions, President General Yahya Khan was deeply aware of the explosive political situation in the country, in 1969. The progressiveness and socialism in the country was rising, and calls for change of regime was gaining momentum. On a television address to the nation, President Yahya Khan announced his intention to hold the nationwide general elections in the following year and set his motion to transfer power to the elected representatives of the people. Earliest authoritative decisions were towards the establishment of National Security Council (NSC) by President Yahya Khan to analyze the military and political situation. Virtually suspending the 1962 Constitution, President Yahya Khan instead issued the LFO Order No. 1970 which brought radical changes in West. Tightening the grip of martial law, the One Unit program was dissolved in West Pakistan, removing the "West" prefix from Pakistan, and direct ballot replaced the principle of parity. Territorial changes were carried out on four provinces of the country, allowing to retain their geographical structures as it were in 1947. The LFO No. 1970 had restored the borders and geographical positions of four provinces as of 1947 and the provincial assemblies and provincial boundaries also were restored. The state parliament, supreme court and major government and authoritarian institutions also regained their status. This decree was only limited to West, it had no effects on East.

Civilians in Ayub Khan's administration were dismissed by the military government appointment of high-profile joint military officers occupying civilian government assignments and posts. The Election Commission (EC) registered a total of twenty-four political parties, and the public meetings attracted a lot of huge crowd. On the eve of the elections in 1970, a cyclone struck East-Pakistan killing approximately 500,000 people, though this event did not deter the people to participate in first ever general elections. Mobilizing support for Six Points manifesto, the Awami League secured its electoral support in East-Pakistan. The PPP assert itself even more densely; its socialist rationale, "Food, Cloth, and Shelter, and party's socialist manifesto quickly popularized the party and in a small span of time. The intellectuals, philosophers, and Bhutto's charismatic personality, were the key factors that contributed to the popularity of Pakistan Peoples Party. The Conservative, PML led by Nurul Amin, raised the religious and nationalist slogans all over the country.

7. Second democratic era (1971–1977)

The 1971 war and separation of East-Pakistan demoralized and shattered the nation. President General Yahya Khan handed over the political power to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of the Pakistan Peoples Party. With PPP's coming to power, the democratic socialists and visionaries came to the power for the first time in the country's history, under a democratic transition. Bhutto made critical decision after dismissing chiefs of army, navy and the air force while authorized home confinement orders for General Yahya Khan and several of his collaborators. He adopted the East-Pakistan Commission's recommendations and authorized large-scale court-martial of army officers tainted for their role in East Pakistan. To keep the country united, Bhutto launched a series of internal intelligence operations to crack down on the fissiparous nationalist sentiments and movements in the provinces. Proponents of socialism were supported as part of the internal policies and the PPP faced serious challenges, both on internal and foreign fronts.

This period starting from 1971 until 1977 was a period of left-wing democracy, the growth of national spirit, economic nationalization, covert atomic bomb projects, promotion of scientific, literary, cultural activities and the left-wing socialism. Regarded as the period of reconstruction, rehabilitation, re-establishment, and the rise of the left-wing sphere of the country, the new industrial, manpower development, and the labour policies were promulgated in the ending weeks of December 1971. In 1972, the country's top intelligence services provided an assessment on Indian nuclear program, citing the evidences that: "India was close to developing a nuclear weapon under its nuclear programme". Chairing a secret winter seminar in January 1972, which came to be known as "Multan meeting", Bhutto rallied a large numbers academic scientists to build the atomic bomb for national survival. The atomic bomb project brought together a team of prominent academic scientists and engineers, headed by theoretical physicist Abdus Salam to develop nuclear devices. Salam later won the Nobel Prize for Physics for developing the theory for unification of weak nuclear forces and strong electromagnetic forces.

8. Second military era (1977–1988)

Operation Fair Play, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq § Reign as President of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization, Baloch Insurgency and Rahimuddin's Stabilization, Siachen conflict, Operation Brasstacks, Soviet war in Afghanistan, Operation Cyclone, Death of Zia-ul-Haq and Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir

This period of military rule, lasting from 1977 to 1988, is often regarded as a period of great purge and growth of state-sponsored religious conservatism. Although, President Zia's long eleven-year rule era features the country's first successful technocracy, but other side, it also features the tug of war between far-leftist forces in direct competition with populist far-right circles. President Zia made strong use of installing high-profile military officers from joint services of joint forces in civilian posts, ranging from central government to provisional governments. Gradually, the socialist influence in the public policies were dismantled disbanded, instead a new system of capitalism was revived with the introduction of corporatization and Islamization. The populist front against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto scattered, with far right-wing conservatives allying with General Zia's government and encouraging the military government crack down on the Pro-Soviet left-wing elements in the country. The left-wing alliance led by Benazir Bhutto was brutalized by Zia who took every mean of aggressive measures against the movement. Further, in his time, secessionist uprisings in Balochistan were put down successfully by the provincial governor, General Rahimuddin Khan.

9. Third democratic era (1988–1999): Benazir–Nawaz period

Democracy returned again in 1988 after the general elections which were held after the death of President General Zia-ul-Haq. The elections marked the return of Peoples Party back into the power whose leader, Benazir Bhutto, became the first female Prime minister of Pakistan as well as the first female head of government in a Muslim-majority country. This period, lasting until 1999, introduced the parliamentary system and competitive two-party democracy in the country, featuring a fierce competition between centre-right conservatives led by Nawaz Sharif and centre-left socialists directed by Benazir Bhutto. The far-left politics and the far-right politics had disintegrated from the political arena with the fall of global communism and the United States lessening its interests in Pakistan. It was during the 1990s when various bands released their highly acclaimed and commercially successful albums which it led to the boom of rock music in Pakistan's music industry. Following the success of Vital Signs and other bands, the rock music bands enormous popularity and success significantly opened a new wave of rock music and opened a modern chapter in the history of Pakistan, bringing the significant shift of country's conservative transformation into semi-Western modernism during the 1990s.

“ The Pressler amendment was a veto in the hands of India— a tool and a club in the hands of those who stood against America and with the Soviet Union for fifty years ... The United States "ethically" should honour its "contractual obligation" to Pakistan, legally and morally ... ”

— Prime minister Benazir Bhutto, 1995,

10. Third military era (1999–2007): Musharraf–Aziz period

1999 Pakistani coup d'état, 2001–2002 India-Pakistan standoff, Legal Framework Order, 2002, War in North-West Pakistan, Assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's role in the War on Terror, War on Terror and Lawyers' Movement

The news of the Sharif's dismissal made headlines all over the world and under pressure by the US President Bill Clinton and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Musharraf succumbed to spare Sharif's life in an agreement facilitated by Saudi Arabia. Departed to Saudi Arabia to be settled in a Jeddah in King Fahd's private residence, Sharif was forced to be out of politics for nearly ten years.

The presidency of Musharraf features the coming of liberal forces in the national power for the first time in the history of Pakistan. Earlier initiatives taken towards the continuation of economic liberalization, privatization, and freedom of media in Pakistan in 1999. The Citibank executive, Shaukat Aziz, returned to country upon Musharraf's request to take the control of the national economy after securing the appointment in Finance ministry in 1999.

In 2000, the government issued a massive nationwide amnesty to the political workers of liberal parties, sidelining the conservatives and leftists in the country. Reviewing the policy to create a counter cultural attack on India, Musharraf personally signed and issued hundreds of license to private sector to open new media houses and set up channels, free from government influence. On 12 May 2000, the Supreme Court ordered the Government to hold general elections by 12 October 2002. Ties with the United States were renewed by Musharraf who endorsed the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan as reactionary to 9/11 attacks in the United States, in 2001. Confrontation with India continued over the disputed Kashmir, which led to serious military standoff in 2002 after India alleged Pakistan-backed Kashmiri militants laid the attack on Indian parliament in ending month of 2001. Military formations and deployment continued in all over the country during this period, with stationing of XI Corps in North-western Pakistan while the rest of the components were positioned in eastern, southern, and the northern borders of the country.

Attempting to legitimize his presidency and assuring its continuance after the impending elections, Musharraf held a controversial referendum in 2002, which allowed the extension of his presidential term to a period ending five years. The LFO Order No. 2002 was issued by Musharraf in August 2001, which established the constitutional basis for his continuance in office. The 2002 general elections marked the liberals, the MQM, and centrist PML(Q), winning the majority in the parliament to form the government.

The LFO effectively paralyzed the state parliament for over a year, which Musharraf succumbed to his parliamentary opponents to reach a concession on December 2003. The Musharraf-backed liberals mustered the two-thirds majority required to pass the 17th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan. Transformation of country's political system from parliamentary republic into semi-presidential republic was made through 17th Amendment which retroactively legitimized Musharraf's 1999 actions and many of his subsequent decrees. In a vote of confidence on January 2004, Musharraf won 658 out of 1,170 votes in the electoral college, and according to Article 41 of the Constitution of Pakistan, was elected to the office of President. Soon after his presidential election, Musharraf increased the role of Shaukat Aziz in the parliament and helped him to secure the party nomination for the office of Prime Minister.

With Shaukat Aziz becoming the prime minister in 2004, his regime yielded positive results on economic front and his proposed social reforms were met with resistance. The far-right religious alliance mobilized itself in fierce opposition to Musharraf and Aziz who were dismayed by their Post-9/11 alliance with the United States and endorsement of military support to the U.S. Forces in 2001 campaign in Afghanistan. In over two years, several attempts were survived by Musharraf and Aziz hatched by al-Qaeda including at least two instances where they had inside information from a member of his military administration. On foreign fronts, the allegations of nuclear proliferation further damaged Musharraf and Aziz's credibility when country's scientists were accused of suspected activities of giving and sharing the technology to global atomic proliferation. Repression and subjugation in Tribal line led to a heavy fighting in Warsk between Pakistan Armed Forces and 400 al-Qaeda operatives who were entrenched in several fortified settlements on March 2004. The hunt for Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri was launched in the border-side of the country, contributing in sparking the sectarian violence. This new war forced the government to sign a truce with the militants on 5 September 2006; nonetheless the sectarian violence continued.

Since 2001 and onward, Navaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto's popular support was gaining a lot of momentum in the country. In 2007, Sharif made a daring attempt to return from exile but was refrained from landing at Islamabad Terminal. Sharif was forcefully departed to Saudi Arabia on a first given flight, whilst outside the airport there were violent confrontations between Sharif's supporters and the police. This did not deter another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, from returning on 18 October 2007 after an eight-year exile in Dubai and London, to prepare for the parliamentary elections to be held in 2008. While leading a massive rally of supporters, two deadly suicide attacks were carried out in an attempt to assassinate Benazir Bhutto, though she escaped unharmed but there were 136 casualties and at least 450 people were injured.

With Aziz completing his term, the liberal alliance now led by Musharraf was further weakened after General Musharraf proclaimed a state of emergency and sacked the Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry along with other 14 judges of the Supreme Court, on 3 November 2007,. Political situation became more chaotic when the lawyers launched a protest against this action but they were arrested. All private media channels including foreign channels were banned, and Musharraf declared that the state of emergency would end on 16 December 2007. The global financial crises, energy crises, domestic crime and violence further escalated as Musharraf made desperate attempt to contained the political pressure. Stepping down from the military, Musharraf was sworn in for a second presidential term on 28 November 2007

Popular support for Musharraf declined when Nawaz Sharif, this time accompanied by his younger brother and his daughter, successfully made a second attempt to return from exile; hundreds of their supporters, including a few leaders of the party were detained before the pair arrived at Iqbal Terminal, on 25 November 2007. Nawaz Sharif filed his nomination papers for two seats in the forthcoming elections whilst Benazir Bhutto filed for three seats including one of the reserved seats for women. Departing an election rally in Rawalpindi on 27 December 2007, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by a gunman who shot her in the neck and set off a bomb, killing 20 other people and injuring several more. The exact sequence of the events and cause of death became points of political debate and controversy, because, although early reports indicated that Benazir Bhutto was hit by shrapnel or the gunshots, the Pakistan Interior ministry maintained that her death was due from a skull fracture sustained when the explosive waves threw her against the sunroof of her vehicle. The issue remains controversial and the investigations were further conducted by British Scotland Yard. After a meeting in Islamabad, the Election Commission announced that, due to the assassination, the elections, which had been scheduled for 8 January 2008, would take place on 18 February.

The 2008 general elections marked the return of the leftists in the country's power politics, on 18 February 2008. The left oriented, PPP, and conservative PML, won majority of seats together in the election and formed a coalition government; the liberal alliance then finally faded. Yousaf Raza Gillani of PPP became the Prime minister and consolidated his power after ending a policy deadlock in order to lead the movement to impeach the president on 7 August 2008. Before restoring the deposed judiciary, Gillani and his leftist alliance leveled accusation against Musharraf for weakening Pakistan's unity, violating its constitution and creating economic impasse. As momentum on Musharraf gained, President Musharraf began consultations with his close aides on the implications of the impeachment and readily made available himself to reply to the charges levied upon him. Gillani's effective strategy to force Musharraf from presidency succeeded when Pervez Musharraf announced in a very short long televised address to the nation to announce his resignation, ending his nine-year-long reign on 18 August 2008.

11. Fourth democratic era (2008–present)

The unpopular war in Afghanistan, suspension of chief justice, and state emergency had weakened Musharraf and a massive left-wing alliance led by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani ousted Pervez Musharraf. In an indirect election, Asif Zardari succeeded Musharraf and the current period marks the return of the left-right directional politics but also features of the multiparty democracy.

After the elections, Yousaf Raza Gillani presided the country as the Prime minister and headed the collective government, with the winner parties of the four provinces. Gillani proposed the idea of collective leadership with the installment major parties of the four provinces in the government; objections raised by conservative PML-N was replaced with centrist, PML(Q). Presided by Gillani, a major transformation in a political structure was carried out to replace the semi-presidential system into parliamentary democracy system. The Parliament unanimously passed the 18th amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, which signifies the parliamentary democracy in the country. Lessening the powers of the President to dissolve the parliament unilaterally, it turns the President into a ceremonial head of state and transfers the authoritarian and executive powers to the Prime Minister. In 2009-11, Gillani, under pressured from the public and cooperating with the United States, ordered the armed forces to launch military campaigns against Taliban advancing in the country. The joint-forces operations quelled and crushed the Taliban militias in the country but the terrorist attacks continued in elsewhere of the country. The country's media was further liberalized with the banning of the Indian channels, the music, art, and cultural activities were promoted to the national level, devoted to the nationalist spirit.