Timeline of Pakistan

Mehrgarh farming settlement

One of the earliest known farming villages in South Asia, in present-day Balochistan.

Prehistory and the Indus Valley · Prehistory and the Indus Valley · source

Mature Harappan phase

Mohenjo-daro and Harappa reach their planned urban form.

Prehistory and the Indus Valley · Prehistory and the Indus Valley · source

Urban decline begins

The large Indus cities are gradually abandoned.

Prehistory and the Indus Valley · Prehistory and the Indus Valley · source

Vedic period begins

Early Vedic society spreads across the Punjab river plains.

Vedic and Achaemenid period · Vedic and Achaemenid period · source

Achaemenid annexation

Darius I incorporates Gandhara and the Indus satrapy.

Vedic and Achaemenid period · Vedic and Achaemenid period · source

Alexander crosses the Indus

Macedonian forces campaign through Gandhara and the Punjab.

Greco-Buddhist Gandhara · Greco-Buddhist Gandhara · source

Mauryan Buddhism

Ashoka's edicts spread Buddhism through Taxila and the north-west.

Greco-Buddhist Gandhara · Greco-Buddhist Gandhara · source

Kushan high point

Kanishka rules from Peshawar; Gandharan sculpture flourishes.

Greco-Buddhist Gandhara · Greco-Buddhist Gandhara · source

Hindu Shahi dynasty established

Kallar founds the dynasty ruling Kabul, Gandhara and the western Punjab.

Hindu Shahi period · Hindu Shahi period · source

Defeat at Peshawar

Mahmud of Ghazni defeats Jayapala, ending Shahi power in the plains.

Hindu Shahi period · Ghaznavid, Ghurid and Sultanate period · source

Lahore under Ghaznavid rule

Lahore becomes an eastern capital of the Ghaznavid state.

Ghaznavid, Ghurid and Sultanate period · Ghaznavid, Ghurid and Sultanate period · source

Delhi Sultanate founded

Ghurid commanders establish sultanate rule over northern South Asia.

Ghaznavid, Ghurid and Sultanate period · Ghaznavid, Ghurid and Sultanate period · source

Tughlaq tomb building

Multan and Uch develop their distinctive brick and tile funerary architecture.

Ghaznavid, Ghurid and Sultanate period · Ghaznavid, Ghurid and Sultanate period · source

Rohtas Fort begun

Sher Shah Suri builds Rohtas near Jhelum during the Mughal interregnum.

The Mughal period · The Mughal period · source

Shalimar Gardens laid out

Shah Jahan's terraced garden is completed at Lahore.

The Mughal period · The Mughal period · source

Badshahi Mosque completed

Aurangzeb's congregational mosque is finished in Lahore.

The Mughal period · The Mughal period · source

Durrani empire founded

Ahmad Shah Durrani is proclaimed ruler at Kandahar.

Durrani and Sikh rule · Durrani and Sikh rule · source

Ranjit Singh takes Lahore

The Sikh empire is established with Lahore as its capital.

Durrani and Sikh rule · Durrani and Sikh rule · source

Annexation of the Punjab

The Punjab passes to British control after the second Anglo-Sikh war.

Durrani and Sikh rule · British colonial period · source

Surveyed and numbered

Thomas Montgomerie of the Great Trigonometrical Survey records the peak as K2, the second measured summit of the Karakoram.

K2 · Gilgit-Baltistan · British colonial period · source

Railway construction begins

The Scinde Railway opens the first lines between Karachi and the interior.

British colonial period · British colonial period · source

Lower Chenab canal colony

Canal irrigation opens large tracts of central Punjab to settlement.

British colonial period · British colonial period · source

First serious attempt

An international party led by Oscar Eckenstein reaches roughly 6,500 m on the Northeast Ridge.

K2 · Gilgit-Baltistan · British colonial period · source

Partition of British India

Pakistan becomes independent on 14 August 1947.

British colonial period · Pakistan since 1947 · source

Independence

Pakistan becomes an independent state on 14 August 1947.

Pakistan since 1947 · Pakistan since 1947 · source

First ascent

Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli summit on 31 July via the Abruzzi Spur.

K2 · Gilgit-Baltistan · Pakistan since 1947 · source

Indus Waters Treaty

Pakistan and India sign the treaty allocating the Indus river system.

Pakistan since 1947 · Pakistan since 1947 · source

Separation of East Pakistan

East Pakistan becomes Bangladesh; accounts differ on casualty figures and are contested in both countries.

Pakistan since 1947 · Pakistan since 1947 · source

The deadliest season

Thirteen climbers die across the summer, cementing the mountain's reputation.

K2 · Gilgit-Baltistan · Pakistan since 1947 · source

First winter ascent

A ten-strong Nepali team summits on 16 January, the last 8,000er to fall in winter.

K2 · Gilgit-Baltistan · Pakistan since 1947 · source