2007 in Pakistan

2007
in
Pakistan

Decades:
See also:

Events from the year 2007 in Pakistan.

Incumbents

Federal government

Governors

Events

January

  • 26 January
    • United States legislation seeks ban on assistance to Pakistan after it reviewed inconsistencies in the Pakistan's nuclear and missile programmes.[1]
    • Suicide bombing at a Marriott Hotel in Islamabad leaves two dead including the bomber. The bombing happened hours before a Republic Day celebrations were to be hosted at the hotel by the Indian High Commission.[2]
  • 27 January – Police chief and 12 others are killed in suicide attack in Peshawar.[3]

March

May

Streets throughout Karachi were left deserted on 12 May 2007 just before the riots broke out resulting in several deaths.

June

  • 23 June – Torrential rainstorms hit the southern province of Sindh and brings floods and destruction to the provincial capital of Karachi; over 200 dead were recovered and several people injured by downed trees and power lines.[6]

July

  • 3 July – Siege of Lal Masjid begins with gunfights erupting between Lal Masjid supporters and Pakistani security forces after 18 months of constant conflict amongst the two parties.[7] Around 125 seminary scholars attack and set fire to government offices near the mosque and take over government positions.[8]
  • 14 July – A suicide attack in Miranshah results in the deaths of 24 security personnel with at least 29 people injured.[citation needed]
  • 23 July – Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal president Qazi Hussain Ahmed resigns from his seat in the National Assembly quoting that "the parliament [was] being neglected and the whims of an individual [were] being imposed over the country".[9]

August

September

  • 1 September – A suicide attacks results in the deaths of five people, including three security personnel with nine others injured in a Mamund tehsil in Bajaur Agency.[13]
  • 4 September – Twin blasts in Rawalpindi, one in a bus another in a market area, kill many and injuring several.
  • 6 September – Pakistan's liquid foreign reserves cross 16 billion-dollar mark, despite the outflow of some 133 million dollars in portfolio investment.[14]
  • 8 September – Government decides to arrest former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif upon the arrival of their flight in Islamabad.
  • 9 September – Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto announces she would launch Pakistan Peoples Party's new campaign "Food, Clothes, Shelter for the People" upon her return to Pakistan.
  • 11 September
  • 13 September – Cabinet of Pakistan unanimously decides to re-elect president Musharraf in uniform from the present assemblies.
  • 14 September – Pakistan Peoples Party unanimously decides that Benazir Bhutto will return to Pakistan on 18 October 2007.
  • 16 September – Election Commission of Pakistan amends the Presidential Election Rules 1988 ahead of the elections so that Article 63 of the Pakistani constitution no longer applies to the president.
  • 18 September – President Musharraf's counsel at the Supreme Court, Sharifuddin Pirzada, says that the general vows to doff uniform after his re-election.[16]
  • 20 September
  • 24 September – India won the ICC t20 world cup by beating their rivals Pakistan in the final.
  • Benazir Bhutto arrives in Washington for a last visit to the US before ending her self-exile.
  • 29 September – Pakistani election officials approve Musharraf's nomination for re-election as president, despite efforts to have him disqualified.[18]

October

  • 1 October – The Supreme Court suspends DIG and the deputy commissioner of Islamabad after a suo motu hearing of recent police violence that injured over 50 lawyers and journalists.
  • 2 October – More than 80 opposition MPs resign from the parliament in protest of the upcoming presidential election. They challenge Musharraf's eligibility to contest.[19]
  • 6 October – Musharraf is re-elected as Pakistan's president, even though his candidacy was heavily criticised.[20]
  • 9 October – Pakistani warplanes bombarded suspected pro-Taleban militant positions on Tuesday, as fierce fighting raged near the Afghan border for a fourth day. The army says 45 troops and 150 rebels have died in battles around the town of Mir Ali. Tuesday's air strikes left 50 rebels dead, unconfirmed reports say.[21]
  • 11 October – The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) bans controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar from playing 13 international matches and fines him 3.4 million (US$56,000) for hitting his teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat.[22]
  • 17 October – Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan after eight years of self-exile thronged by a crowd of a million in Karachi to welcome her back.[23]
  • 19 October – At least 124 people are killed and 320 injured in the Karachi bombings near the convoy carrying Bhutto.[24]
  • 20 October – Karachi police releases a photograph of the suicide bomber who killed at least 130 people in the Karachi bombings.[25]
  • 25 October – The Election Commission asks political parties to desist from criticising the army or the judiciary ahead of general elections in 2008.[26]
  • 28 October – The Radio Pakistan building on the M. A. Jinnah Road in Karachi is badly damaged in a blaze and the transmissions were suspended for several hours.[27]

November

  • 3 November
    • President Musharraf declares a period of emergency rule amid rising militant violence.[28][29]
    • Television networks and telephone lines are blocked in various cities across Pakistan.
    • Benazir Bhutto visits Karachi, cutting short her visit to Dubai.
    • Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar takes oath as the new chief justice of the Supreme Court.
    • Militants capture two police stations in Swat.
  • 5 November – Pakistan's main stock market index KSE 100 falls nearly 5% to close at 13,279.60 as investors react to the emergency rule imposed by Musharraf. The fall is registered as the biggest one-day decline on the Karachi Stock Exchange index for 16 months.[30]
  • 14 November
  • 15 November
    • The National Assembly completes its five-year term for the first time in the history of Pakistan.
    • Senate chairman Muhammad Mian Soomro takes oath as the caretaker prime minister after the dissolution of the National Assembly. His appointment came as a surprise to political observers who expressed concerns about the transparency and fairness of the upcoming elections.[33]
  • 17 November – Pakistan's biggest private television network Geo TV is ordered off air for an unspecified amount of time during the emergency rule. The network had been forced to close down all operations and also halt its transmissions from the United Arab Emirates.[34]
  • 18 November
  • 19 November
  • 20 November
  • 21 November
    • Imran Khan is released from imprisonment at a jail in Dera Ghazi Khan.[42]
    • Chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry tries to leave his house in Islamabad but is blocked by security forces.[43]
    • Major general Waheed Arshad announces that the Pakistani army has killed 40 pro-Taliban militants in the Shangla District in Swat Valley in the last two days.[44]
  • 22 November
    • Pakistan is barred from the Commonwealth of Nations again for its imposition of emergency rule.[45]
    • The Supreme Court dismisses the last remaining petition challenging the dereliction of president Musharraf.[46]
  • 23 November
    • The Supreme Court orders the Election Commission to declare Musharraf the winner in the 2007 Pakistani presidential election.[47]
    • Foreign minister Inam-ul-Haq calls Pakistan's suspension from the Commonwealth "unjustified".[48]
  • 26 November – Nawaz Sharif announces he will file his nomination papers for the 2008 general elections. However, he denies to serve as prime minister under the Musharraf's presidency.[49]

December

Burned-out buildings in the aftermath of riots in Karachi after Bhutto's assassination.
  • 1 December – Benazir Bhutto begins her election campaign for the 2008 general election.
  • 3 December – The Election Commission rejects Nawaz Sharif's nomination papers for the upcoming general elections.[50]
  • 7 December – Dr Reginald Zahiruddin, secretary of the Church of Pakistan and medical director at a hospital in Bannu, is kidnapped by Taliban militants along with his driver.[51][52]
  • 8 December – Gunmen attack Bhutto's PPP party office in Naseerabad, Karachi, killing three supporters.
  • 27 December – Benazir Bhutto is assassinated during an election rally.[53]

Deaths

See also

References

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  2. ^ "'Suicide blast' at top hotel in Islamabad". Dawn. 27 January 2007. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Police chief, 12 others killed in Peshawar blast: Second suicide attack in two days". Dawn. 28 January 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  4. ^ Graham, Stephen (13 May 2007). "Opposition to Pakistani president grows". Forbes. Archived from the original on 16 May 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
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  8. ^ Raza, Syed; Azeem, Munawar (4 July 2007). "Fierce gunbattles rock capital". Dawn. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
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  13. ^ Khan, Anwarullah (2 September 2007). "Suicide attack kills 3 soldiers". Dawn. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
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  33. ^ Wasim, Amir (15 November 2007). "Soomro heads interim govt". Dawn. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
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  48. ^ "Pakistan suspension 'unjustified'". BBC News. 23 November 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  49. ^ Pakistan rivals enter poll fray (BBC)
  50. ^ EC rejects Nawaz’s nomination papers (Daily Times)
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  53. ^ Benazir Bhutto Assassinated In Suicide Attack (Sky News)
  54. ^ "Benazir Bhutto". Britannica Presents 100 Women Trailblazers. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2021.