Historical Dictionary of Pakistan

CHRONOLOGY • lvstituency in rural Sindh. 28 August: Shaukat Aziz was elected prime ministerby the National Assembly, receiving 191 votes in a house of 342members. His only challenge came from Javed Hashmi, who was in jailcharged with an attempt to provoke a rebellion in the army. 24 September:President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister ManmohanSingh met in New York at the sidelines of the meeting of the UN GeneralAssembly, and issued a joint statement. “They agreed that confidencebuilding measures of all categories under discussion between the twogovernments should be implemented keeping in mind practical possibilities.”14 October: The National Assembly passed a bill allowing PresidentMusharraf to remain in uniform beyond 31 December 2005. 22 November:Asif Ali Zardari, jailed on 4 November 1996 on corruptioncharges, was released after the Supreme Court granted him bail. 25 November:Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz held talks with Manmohan Singh,his Indian counterpart. 29 November: Pakistan test-fired the indigenouslydeveloped short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile Hatf IIIGhazanvi. 30 November: Acting President Mohammedmian Soomrosigned into law the “President to hold another office bill” passed earlierby both the National Assembly and the Senate. President Musharraf wason a visit to Latin America having left Soomro, Chairman of the Senate,in charge. 5 December: Presidents Musharraf and George W. Bush metin Washington and discussed a number of world issues including theKashmir and Palestine problems. 15 December: China and Pakistansigned a number of agreements in the areas of trade, communications, andenergy during a visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. 23 December:The KSE-100 index on the Karachi Stock exchange reached the6000 mark. 27 December: Pakistan and India held a meeting at the secretarylevel in Islamabad at which Pakistan presented a list of 20 confidence-buildingmeasures. 30 December: President Musharraf announcedthat he will retain the position of chief of army staff until December 2007,the end of his term as president. The move was opposed by all parties inthe opposition. The Pakistan People’s Party, the largest opposition partyin the national assembly, asked Musharraf not to discredit democracy inthe country by continuing to stay in uniform.2005 8 January: General John Amizaid, commander-in-chief of theUnited States Central Command, visited Islamabad and met with PresidentPervez Musharraf. 14 January: Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, arrested on 25July 2004, a top al Qaeda operative, was handed over to U.S. authorities.