Order Code RS21584
Updated February 7, 2006
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Pakistan: Chronology of Recent Events
K. Alan Kronstadt
Analyst in Asian Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
This report provides a chronology of recent events involving Pakistan and Pakistan-
U.S. relations. Sources include, but are not limited to, major newswires, the U.S.
Department of State, and Pakistani news outlets. For a substantive review, see CRS
Issue Brief IB94041, Pakistan-U.S. Relations. This report will be updated regularly.
02/07/06 — Some 5,000 people marched in
Acronyms:
Peshawar in protest over the
LOC:
Line of Control (Kashmir)
pu b licatio n in European
MMA:
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
newspapers of cartoons deemed
PML:
Pakistan Muslim League
offensive to Muslims. On the
PPP:
Pakistan People’s Party
same day, tribal militants blew up
a major gas pipeline in the
Baluchistan province in the fourth such attack in one month.
02/06/06 — The Governor of Baluchistan province claimed Afghan warlords and drug
traffickers were arming Baloch militants and India was financing them.
02/05/06 — A bomb exploded on a bus in Quetta, killing at least 13 people and
injuring 20 others. Police later arrested 11 Baloch tribesmen in
connection with the attack. On the same day, six people were killed and
at least a dozen others, including women and children, were wounded in
a missile attack in Sui, Baluchistan.
02/04/06 — The commander of the U.S. Disaster Assistance Center in Pakistan, Gen.
LeFever, announced that the U.S. military’s unprecedented earthquake
relief mission will end on 3/31, but that U.S. forces will leave behind
more than $6 million worth of medical and construction equipment. On
the same day, fierce fighting between Afghan security forces and Islamic
militants in eastern Afghanistan spread across the border, leaving at least
three Pakistani soldiers dead in South Waziristan.
02/03/06 — President Musharraf condemned “in the strongest terms” the publication
in European newspapers of cartoons deemed offensive to Muslims.
The Pakistani Senate passed unanimously a resolution denouncing the
publication, calling it part of a “vicious, outrageous, and provocative
campaign” against Islam. Hundreds of Islamic activists marched in
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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protest in Pakistani cities. A State Department spokesman said the U.S.
government. found the images “offensive” while characterizing the issue
as a matter of press freedom.
02/02/06 — Director of Intelligence Negroponte told a Senate panel that Pakistan’s
commitment to counterterrorism efforts has enabled some key Al Qaeda
captures, but that Pakistan “remains a major source of extremism that
poses a threat to [President] Musharraf, to the United States, and to
neighboring India and Afghanistan.” He also said Musharraf has made
“only limited progress” in democratization efforts. On the same day,
Saudi King Abdullah visited Islamabad, where Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia signed five agreements meant to enhance diplomatic,
educational, and trade interactions.
01/31/06 — Pakistan and India signed an agreement to relaunch a cross-border
train service that was halted in 1965. On the same day, NATO forces
announced an end to their 90-day earthquake relief and rescue mission.
01/30/06 — Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Patterson visited Islamabad for meetings with top
Pakistani leaders. On the same day, a new video of Al Qaeda leader
Ayman al-Zawahri surfaced, demonstrating that he had not been killed
in the 1/13 Bajur attack. Also, two Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were
killed by an improvised explosive device in North Waziristan.
01/29/06 — A Washington Post interview quoted President Musharraf as claiming the
1/13 Bajur attack “was definitely not coordinated with us [Pakistan]” and
calling the strike “a violation of our sovereignty.” Musharraf also claimed
that Pakistan-India relations “have never been as good as they are today,”
but he expressed disappointment that dispute resolution was not moving
forward, especially with regard to Kashmir. On the same day, exiled
former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accused Musharraf of failing
democracy and “degrading Pakistan’s name across the world.” Also, a
British press report claimed that “prevarication by the Pakistani
government” had cost the United States an opportunity to target Osama
bin Laden in Baluchistan two years earlier.
01/28/06 — A New York Times editorial asserted that the Pakistani people “deserve a
good explanation” for the 1/13 Bajur attack and said President Bush
should have provided one.
01/27/06 — The Senate passed S.Res. 356, commending earthquake relief and
recovery efforts, and urging the U.S. government to take the lead in
encouraging continued efforts. On the same day, police in Lahore arrested
several hundred Islamic activists who were protesting against a planned
mixed-gender marathon there. The marathon later took place peacefully,
although 2,000 women reportedly withdrew due to fears of violence.
01/26/06 — Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto held a press conference in
Washington, where she claimed that Pakistan’s military-dominated
government was sidelining the country’s secular democratic forces and
creating a vacuum that is being filled by Islamist extremists. She called
for countering terrorism with “stable, pluralistic structures through
democratic reform.” Earlier in the day, Interpol had (at Islamabad’s
request) issued “red notices” seeking the arrest of Bhutto and her husband
on corruption charges, charges Bhutto called “scurrilous” and “politically-
motivated.” On the same day, President Musharraf told an interviewer

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that Pakistan is moving forward with a proposed gas pipeline project
involving Iran and that, if “somebody” wants to stop the project, Pakistan
should be compensated.
01/25/06 — A Washington Post editorial asserted that Pakistan’s “meretricious
military ruler” had avoided an all-out campaign against Islamic extremism
at significant cost in American lives and resources. On the same day, the
Pakistani Senate passed unanimously a resolution condemning the 1/13
Bajur attack as a violation of the country’s sovereignty. Also, six people,
most of them women and children, were reported killed in a landmine
explosion in the Baluchistan province.
01/24/06 — President Bush hosted Prime Minister Aziz at the White House, where
he lauded the “strategic” and “vital” U.S.-Pakistan relationship and said
he would travel to Pakistan in March 2006. On the same day, the U.S.
Trade Representative determined that Pakistan had made “significant
progress” in protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights,
especially with regard to the pirating of optical media. Also, President
Musharraf, contradicting the prime minister’s earlier remarks, claimed
evidence had been found suggesting that Al Qaeda members had been
killed in the 1/13 Bajur attack.
01/22/06 — Prime Minister Aziz told an American television interviewer that the
apparent 1/13 U.S. attack in the Bajur Agency was not coordinated with
the Pakistani government and that “not one shred of evidence” had been
found indicating that Islamic militants had been at the site of the attack.
He condemned the incident and called for greater relevant U.S.-Pakistan
communication and coordination in the future. On the same day, a New
York Times report claimed that Pakistan’s military campaign against
Islamic militants in western tribal areas “is bogged down, the local
political administration is powerless, and the militants are stronger than
ever.” Also, a spokesman for Baloch tribal militias claimed that 16
people, including women and children, had been killed in two days of
heavy fighting between militants and security forces in Baluchistan.
01/21/06 — Under Secretary of State Burns visited Islamabad, where he met with
top Pakistani leaders and officially commenced a four-year, $200 million
earthquake reconstruction grant agreement.
01/20/06 — The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged President
Bush to raise in upcoming meetings with Prime Minister Aziz the issue of
“severe violations” of religious freedom in Pakistan. On the same day,
anti-U.S. protests continued in Pakistani cities, with thousands of
marchers reportedly chanting “Death to America” in Peshawar.
01/19/06 — Career Foreign Service officer Richard Boucher was nominated to be
Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs.
01/18/06 — Two days of foreign secretary-level Pakistan-India talks ended with
Foreign Secretary Khan expressing satisfaction with the achievements of
the bilateral “composite dialogue” while also calling for movement on
“more difficult questions.” The Indian foreign secretary echoed the
positive assessment of progress while also asserting that Pakistan had not
taken sufficient steps to end “cross-border terrorism” in India. On the
same day, New York-based Human Rights Watch released an annual
report claiming that President “Musharraf’s military-backed government

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did little in 2005 to address ongoing human rights concerns” and that
Musharraf himself “continued to tighten his personal grip on power.”
01/17/06 — Pakistani officials claimed that at least four Al Qaeda militants,
including Ayman al-Zawahri’s son-in-law and a top bomb expert, had
been killed in the 1/13 Bajur attack. A State Department spokesman
would not offer details or confirm that any Al Qaeda members had been
present during that attack. On the same day, a U.S. delegation arrived in
Islamabad for a fourth round of U.S.-Pakistan bilateral investment
treaty negotiations. Also, President Musharraf gave a major address to
the nation in which he sought to justify his government’s water and dam
policy, commended earthquake relief efforts, decried the activities of
“subversive” tribal leaders in the Baluchistan province, and made no
mention of the 1/13 Bajur attack. Finally, U.N. and other international aid
groups suspended their operations in Baluchistan due to security concerns.
01/16/06 — Pakistan’s ruling PML party issued a statement demanding a U.S. apology
for the 1/13 Bajur attack. On the same day, Secretary of State Rice
declined to provide details about the attack, but said the United States will
not deal “lightly” with Al Qaeda-linked militants. Also, anti-U.S. protests
continued in Pakistani cities, with up to 10,000 marching in Karachi.
Finally, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders condemned Islamabad’s
ban on journalists from going to the Bajur Agency and the arrest of two
leading reporters who were investigating a 1/13 attack there.
01/15/06 — The Leader of the Opposition in the Pakistani Senate strongly condemned
the 1/13 “violation of Pakistani airspace and missile attack on civilians”
in Bajur. On the same day, eight people were reported killed in clashes
between security forces and militants in Baluchistan.
01/14/06 — The Foreign Ministry condemned the loss of civilian lives in the 1/13
Bajur attack and delivered a protest to the U.S. Ambassador in Islamabad.
01/13/06 — A missile attack on a residential compound in northwest Pakistan
near the Afghan border killed up to 18 people, reportedly including
numerous women and children. Some reports said the death toll was
higher and included up to one dozen Islamic militants. Pakistani officials
and local witnesses blamed the attack on U.S. air forces, possibly
Predator drones that were targeting top Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-
Zawahri, who was not at the scene. U.S. officials would not confirm U.S.
involvement. The incident led to major public anti-U.S.
demonstrations. On the same day, at least 18 people, one-third of them
Pakistani soldiers, were reported killed and many more injured in
gunbattles and landmine blasts in Baluchistan.
01/10/06 — A fierce battle between Pakistani soldiers and suspected Islamic
militants in North Waziristan left 14 militants and 7 soldiers dead.
01/09/06 — The Pakistani government lodged a strong protest with U.S.-led forces in
Afghanistan after cross-border firing killed eight people in North
Waziristan. U.S. authorities denied the involvement of U.S. troops.
01/08/06 — President Musharraf accused India of arming and financing militants
Baluchistan. New Delhi rejected the allegations as “utterly baseless and
false.” On the same day, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad reported that
U.S. helicopters were delivering more than 100 tons of earthquake relief
supplies in the region daily.

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01/07/06 — A missile attack on a residence in North Waziristan killed eight
people and injured nine others. Local residents said an American
helicopter had launched the missile, but U.S. officials did not confirm or
deny the report. Separate incidents left 16 people, including 8 Pakistani
soldiers and 5 members of a tribal elder’s family, dead in the region. On
the same day, President Musharraf offered a new initiative calling for the
withdrawal of Indian troops from three key Kashmiri cities in return for
Pakistani assistance in ending Islamic militancy in the region. New Delhi
quickly rejected the proposal, saying such decisions are a matter of India’s
sovereignty and “cannot be dictated by any foreign government.”
01/06/06 — The Defense Department FY2006 Authorization Act became P.L. 109-
163, which authorizes $40 million for Pentagon-funded humanitarian
assistance to victims of the 10/8 earthquake.
01/05/06 — Foreign Minister Kasuri apologized for the illicit nuclear smuggling
activities of A.Q. Khan and said “appropriate action” had been taken to
fully dismantle Khan’s network. On the same day, suspected Islamic
militants shot dead seven tribesmen in South Waziristan.
01/04/06 — A senior State Department official said the United States is “absolutely
opposed” to any gas pipeline projects involving Iran. On the same day,
Baloch political figures claimed that ten people, including two women and
four children, had been killed in government shelling in Baluchistan.
01/03/06 — U.N. Secretary General Annan appointed former U.S. President George
H.W. Bush as special envoy for South Asian earthquake relief efforts.
01/02/06 — Press reports indicated that Pakistan was negotiating with China to
purchase 6-8 new nuclear power reactors for $7-10 billion. Islamabad
denied the reports as “baseless.” On the same day, fighting between
Pakistani security forces and suspected tribal militants near Dera Bugti,
Baluchistan, left two people dead and eight women and children injured,
and a key gas pipeline damaged by an explosion.
12/31/05 — Two Pakistani paramilitary troops were killed and key bridge was
destroyed by suspected tribal militants in Baluchistan.
12/30/05 — The Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006 became P.L. 109-
148, which allows that up to $195 million in Pentagon funds be used to
reimburse Pakistan and other key cooperating nations for their support of
U.S. military operations. On the same day, President Bush directed the
drawdown of up to $30 million worth of Pentagon defense articles and
services for international disaster relief efforts in Pakistan. Also, the
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called for a halt to government
military operations in Baluchistan.
12/28/05 — An organization representing some 12,000 Pakistani madrassas said they
would not comply with a government order to expel foreign students,
calling the order unconstitutional and a human rights violation. On the
same day, Pakistan launched Chinese-assisted construction of a second
nuclear power plant at Chasma.
12/27/05 — An Indian official told a questioner that India noted “the heavy military
action” in Baluchistan and that New Delhi hoped Islamabad would
“exercise restraint” in the region. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman later sternly advised Indian leaders to “mind their own
business.” On the same day, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders

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condemned the Pakistani government for issuing a ban on 30 foreign
television channels, most of them Indian.
12/24/05 — Tribal leaders claimed that at least 100 people had been killed in a
“military operation” being conducted against “unarmed” people in Kohlu,
Baluchistan. The Islamabad government denied that any military
operations were underway.
12/21/05 — A public opinion poll found Pakistanis holding a more favorable view
of the United States than at any time since September 2001, with U.S.
humanitarian assistance efforts dramatically improving America’s image.
On the same day, Pakistani and Indian officials meeting in Lahore agreed
to launch new cross-border bus service.
12/18/05 — Pakistani troops backed by helicopter gunships launched an
operation against what the government called “miscreant hideouts” in
Baluchistan after the head of Pakistan’s Frontier Corps and his deputy
were injured in an attack on their helicopter over in the region.
12/17/05 — Pakistan and India agreed to begin work by 2007 on a proposed Iran-
Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.
12/16/05 — The Pentagon notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to
Pakistan of 115 self-propelled howitzers worth up to $56 million.
12/13/05 — Rockets were fired at an army camp in Baluchistan during a visit to the
site by President Musharraf.
12/12/05 — U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Crocker said the United States believes
President Musharraf is leading Pakistan toward stable democracy. He also
expressed concern that banned Islamic extremist groups had been allowed
to join earthquake relief operations.
12/08/05 — A bomb exploded in South Waziristan near the Afghan border, killing 12
people and injuring at least 35 more.
12/07/05 — A gunbattle between Islamic militants and “bandits” in North Waziristan
near the Afghan border killed 15 people.
12/06/05 — Four paramilitary soldiers were reported kidnaped in South Waziristan.
The beheaded bodies of two were found two days later.
12/05/05 — A journalist who reported evidence that a U.S. drone had fired a missile
at suspected terrorists on 12/1 — and thus contradicting Islamabad’s
official explanation — was kidnaped by unidentified gunmen.
12/03/05 — Press reports indicated that “senior” Al Qaeda figure Hamza Rabia was
among those killed in an apparent 12/1 missile attack in North
Waziristan. The missile reportedly was fired from a U.S. aerial drone.
12/01/05 — Five militants, including three Uzbeks, were reported killed in what the
Islamabad government called an detonation of stored explosives in North
Waziristan near the Afghan border. Some local residents disputed the
report, saying a helicopter fired rockets into the house.
11/19/05 — Delegates from 75 countries and institutions met in Islamabad for a
donor conference to raise funds for earthquake relief efforts. More than
$5.8 billion was pledged in soft loans, cash, and in-kind donations,
exceeding Pakistan’s financing target.
11/17/05 — H.Res. 561 and S.Res. 319, commending relief efforts in response to the
10/8 earthquake, were introduced in the House and Senate, respectively.

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