Countries / South Asia
12 notable historical events in Pakistan, in chronological order.
Planned cities such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa flourish along the Indus, with drainage systems, standardised weights and an undeciphered script.
The hymns of the Rigveda, the oldest text of Hinduism, are composed in Vedic Sanskrit and transmitted orally for generations.
Emperor Ashoka has edicts inscribed on rocks and pillars across his empire, promoting Buddhist ethics and tolerance.
Qutb ud-Din Aibak establishes the Delhi Sultanate, which dominates much of northern India for over three centuries.
Guru Nanak is born at Talwandi (now Nankana Sahib, Pakistan); his teachings become the foundation of Sikhism.
Ranjit Singh captures Lahore and unites the Sikh confederacies into an empire in the Punjab.
After the 1857 rebellion, the Government of India Act transfers rule from the East India Company to the British Crown; the Mughal Empire formally ends.
The All-India Muslim League adopts a resolution calling for independent states in Muslim-majority areas, a step towards the creation of Pakistan.
British India is partitioned into the independent dominions of India and Pakistan, accompanied by mass migration and violence.
East Pakistan declares independence as Bangladesh; after nine months of war and Indian intervention, Pakistani forces surrender in Dhaka.
India conducts a series of nuclear weapons tests at Pokhran; Pakistan responds with its own tests later that month.
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to lead a Muslim-majority country, is killed in an attack in Rawalpindi.