Pakistan Timeline: 2008

January
January 2: The Election Commission announces elections will now be held on February 18.

February
February 5: PPP releases the late Ms. Bhutto?s political will which names her husband Asif Zardari as her political heir.

February 18: Elections are held amidst tight security. PPP, PML-N, PML-N and ANP win 124, 91, 54 and 13 seats respectively.

March
March 9: Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif sign the Murree Declaration.

March 24: Yusuf Raza Gilani is elected as the new Prime Minister .

May
May 11: Talks fail in London between the PPP and the PML-N. PML-N ministers submit resignations to Gilani.

May 14: An accord is reached between militants and the ANP-led government in NWFP, which allows the imposition of Shariah Law in Swat and Malakand.

June
June 2: A bomb blast outside the Danish Embassy in Islamabad kills 8 and leaves 24 injured. Al-Qaeda claims responsibility.

June 8: Shahbaz Sharif takes oath as Chief Minister of Punjab.

June 17: The defense budget allocation comes under discussion for the first time in the country?s history in the Senate.

July
July 26: The government announces it will place the ISI and the IB under the control of the Interior Ministry. The decision is reversed within hours.

July 27: PM Yusuf Raza Gilani arrives in Washington D.C. Meetings leads to increased military activity in FATA.

August
Army and Frontier Corps begin Operations Rah-e-Haq and Sherdill begins in Swat and Bajaur.

August 18: Pervez Musharraf steps down as President of Pakistan. Mohammadmian Soomro takes over as President.

August 21: At least 70 people are killed and over 60 injured as two suicide blasts take place outside the POF factory in Wah Cantonment. TTP claims responsibility.

September
20 people are killed in a US special operations ground attack in the South Waziristan area.

September 6: Asif Zardari wins presidential election with 481 votes. (September 9) Asif Zardari takes oath as President of Pakistan.

September 20: A massive truck-bomb explodes outside the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, leaving over 50 people dead and injuring more than 200.

September 29: A major reshuffle in the army top brass is announced. Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha is appointed as the new ISI chief.

October
October 8: A joint session of the assemblies reviews an in-camera briefing by the Pakistani military on the security situation in the country.

October 29: Over 200 people are killed, over 500 injured and thousands are displaced as a powerful earthquake hits the Ziarat area in Balochistan.

November
November 12: A USAID worker and his driver shot dead in Peshawar.

November 15: The IMF approves a $7.6 billion bailout plan for Pakistan.

November 22: London-airline conspirator Rashid Rauf and Al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubair Al-Misri killed in a drone attack in North Waziristan.

November 22: Reports emerge that the ISI is closing its political wing.

November 24: Pakistan receives $1.3 billion as part of the first tranche of the IMF bailout package.

November 26: Ten Pakistani terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Tayeeba attack multiple high profile targets in Mumbai. After three days, 173 left dead.

December
December 7 : At least 150 NATO supply trucks are torched by militants at a depot in the outskirts of Peshawar.

December 11: The United Nations imposes sanctions against four members of the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba.

December 26: The Pakistan Army cancels leaves of all soldiers, moves troops from FATA to the Pak-India border.