Events from Bhutto's "Islam, Democracy, and the West"

By hrippetoe

  • Bhutto graduates

    “Benazir Bhutto, daughter of President Zulkifar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan, graduates cum laude from Radcliffe College with a B.A. in government.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto earns B.A.

    “Ms. Bhutto earns a B.A in philosophy, politics and economics, and is the first woman elected president of the Oxford Union, the prestigious debating society.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto's father is overthrown

    “After leaving Oxford, Ms. Bhutto goes back to her native land. Soon after, her father, now prime minister, is overthrown by a military coup, led by Gen. Mohammad Zia ul- Haq” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto's father assassinated

    “Mr. Bhutto is hanged in the Rawalpindi District Jail, where he had been confined since his conviction in 1978 on charges of conspiring to murder a political opponent four years earlier. Ms. Bhutto said her father’s death vigil prepared her for her political career.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto and her mother are released

    “Ms. Bhutto and her mother, Nusrat, are released after being detained two months before the execution. Both had been active in Mr. Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party and had been detained to minimize demonstrations against his conviction and the denial of subsequent appels” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto wants to be Prime minister

    “Ms. Bhutto is eager to avenge her father’s death, and people who know the family preict that she wants nothing less than to be prime minister, no small feat in a male-dominated Islamic country.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto and her mother are arrested again

    “Ms. Bhutto and her mother are arrested again in a round-up of political dissidents after her two brothers are linked to the hijacking of a Pakistani airliner. Bhutto spends the summer in solitary confinement and is then transferred to house arrest before leaving the country in exile in 1984.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto exiled

    After being exiled from Paksitan, Benazir Bhutto goes to London for being in and out of prison for five years at Pakistan.

  • Bhutto under house arrest

    “Ms. Bhutto is placed under house arrest, eight days after returning to Pakistan from self-imposed exile. She had returned to try to assume leadership of her father’s party, and to mark the death of her younger brother.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Elections are held

    “Ms. Bhutto, elated by the tumultuous turnout at her antigovernment rally, demands that new elections be held but pledges not to resort to violence.”

  • Arranged marriage

    “Ms. Bhutto’s mother arranged her marriage to Asif Ali Zardari.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto becomes the Prime Minister

    “Ms. Bhutto’s party emerges from national elections with the largest voting bloc in Parliament.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto's government dismissed

    “Ms. Bhutto’s government is dismissed by the president of Pakistan after only 20 months in office. The president, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, accuses her administration of corruption, nepotism and other acts ‘in contravention of the constitution and the law.’ Ms. Bhutto blames the military for her ouster.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Court upholds dismissal

    “A high court upholds the president’s dismissal of Ms. Bhutto’s government.”

  • Bhutto returns as Prime Minister

    “After more than two years of political battling, Ms. Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party captures the most seats in parliamentary elections. She will return for a second term as prime minister.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto's brother dies

    Bhutto’s brother Murtaza dies in a gun battle with police in Karachi. Her brother, Shahnawaz, had died under mysterious circumstances in France a decade earlier.

  • Bhutto's second administration is dismissed

    “Pakistan’s president dismisses Ms. Bhutto as head of the government, justifying the action with a proclamation that depicted her administration as incompetent, corrupt and defiant of constitutional resraints on executive power. Ms. Bhutto is placed under house arrest, and her husband, widely accused of enriching himself with kickbacks on government contracts, is said to have been arrested while trying to flee the country.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto remains in exile

    A court finds Bhutto guilty of corruption while she is out of the country. The conviction is later quashed, but Bhutto remains in exile.

  • Conviction overturned

    “Pakistan’s Supreme Court sets aside the convictions and orders a retrial for Ms. Bhutto and her imprisoned husband” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto returns to Pakistan

    “The government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf announces an American-brokered accord that includes amnesty for Ms. Bhutto, clearing the way for the general to run for re-election as president and for Ms. Bhutto to return to Pakistan for parliamentary elections.” Bhutto returned home to Karachi. Hundreds of thousands of supporters line the streets and two blasts explode, she is unhurt but the death toll climbs over 100.- The New York Times, 2007

  • Police prevent riots and rally

    “After General Musharraf declares emergency rule, hundreds of riot police block Ms. Bhutto and her supporters from making a planned long march from Lahore to Islamabad. Police had also prevented a rally planned in Rawalpindi four days earlier.” - The New York Times, 2007

  • Bhutto is assassinated

    “Witnesses say Ms. Bhutto, who was appearing at a political rally in Rawalpindi, was fired upon by a gunman at close range, quickly followed by a blast that the government says was caused by a suicide.” - The New York Times, 2007