The year 2017 was when we moved one step forward and two back. There was great political turbulence and divide in the society. Here are some of the events that were important to us Pakistanis.

 9 January 2017

The Balochistan High Court issued bail able arrest warrants for former President General (Retired) Pervez Musharraf in JWP leader Nawab Akbar Bugti's murder case.

11 January

JI Ameer (chief), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mushtaq Ahmad called for merger of FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

16 January

The special policing powers granted to Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, by the Provincial Government under Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 to carry out raids and arrest suspects ended.

21 January

At least 25 people were killed and more than 87 others were injured in a bomb blast at the Sabzi Mandi area of Parachinar in Kurram Agency

30 January

The Punjab Government issued orders to place JuD chief Hafiz Saeed under house arrest.

6 February

A grand jirga of elders from Khyber Agency was held in Jamrud town, opposing the proposed merger of the FATA with KP.

9 February

The second season of the Pakistan Super League began.

13 February

At least 14 persons were killed and 85 injured when a suicide bomber struck around 6pm outside the Punjab Assembly on Mall Road in Lahore.

16 February

At least 88 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked the crowded Sufi shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan Sharif town of Jamshoro District in Sindh.

21 February

At least seven persons were killed and 25 others were injured when three suicide attackers attacked the session's court in Tangi tehsil of Charsadda District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

22 February

Pakistan Army launched 'Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad' across the country.

5 March

 The second season of the Pakistan Super League ends.

14 March

Balochistan higher education secretary Abdullah Jan was abducted from Wahdat Colony of Brewery Road area in Quetta.

Pakistan's sixth census begins.

29 March

At least six Ahmadis were killed in Pakistan in 2016 because of their religious beliefs, a recent report issued by the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya said. Saleemuddin, the spokesperson for the group,

31 March

24 persons were killed and 100 injured in a suicide attack on an Imambargah in the Noor market area of Parachinar town in Kurram Agency of FATA.

5 April

Six people, including four Army soldiers and an off-duty Air Force airman, lost their lives after a suicide bomber targeted a census team in Bedian Road area of Lahore

10 April

Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM)

13 April

US said that the safe havens still exist in Pakistan for terrorist groups to operate from and carry strikes out on Afghanistan.

21 April

Around 500 militants belonging to different banned Baloch militant organizations including 12 ‘commanders’ and 16 ‘sub-commanders’ surrendered themselves

Former Army Chief General (retd) Raheel Sharif left for Saudi Arabia to head a 41-nation military alliance after the government issued him a NOC.

5 May

12 persons 10 civilians and one sepoy each from the Pakistan Army and the FC lost their lives and around 40 others were injured in firing and shelling after Afghan forces attacked FC personnel guarding the staff conducting census in Kali Luqman and Kali Jahangir areas of Chaman

7 May

The Army said it had killed more than 50 Afghan soldiers in a clash on the Chaman border crossing in Qilla Abdullah District of Balochistan on May 5.

8 May

The chief of the Iranian Army Major General Mohammad Baqeri warned Islamabad that Tehran would hit bases inside Pakistan if the Government does not confront militants who carry out cross-border attacks.

12 May

 27 people were killed and 40 others, including Senate Deputy Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, suffered injuries in a suicide attack on his convoy in the Mastung.

18 May

 The International Court of Justice stayed the hanging of Jadhav, after India approached it against the death sentence

19 May

At least 14 people including seven children and women sustained injuries in five different hand gren’ade attacks in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda District in KP

27 May

Religious scholars from all schools of thought issued a fatwa that declared suicide attacks, armed insurgency against a state and use of force in the name of imposing Shariah as ‘Haram’.

5 June

Six kidnapped Pakistani workers for a Polish oil and gas company have been freed, a local official said, more than six months after they were abducted.

The Sindh Government announced a 10 per cent increase in the budget for security with a plan to recruit 10,000 more Policemen in the next financial year to “improve police-to-citizens ratio, especially in Karachi”.

6 June

A Pentagon report released singled out Pakistan as a possible location for a future Chinese military base, as it forecast that Beijing would likely build more bases overseas after establishing a facility in the African nation of Djibouti.

8 June

IS claimed of killing two Chinese nationals who were abducted on May 24 in Balochistan. The claim, by the IS news agency Amaq, came hours after the Pakistani Army announced it had carried out a successful operation against IS-affiliated militants in the same region.

12 June

A drone strike killed a commander of Haqqani network and his partner in Speen Tal area of Hangu District in KP.

18 June

Pakistan wins 2017 ICC Champions Trophy 2017 defeating India by 158 runs.

19 June

Two Navy sailors were shot dead and three others were wounded when their vehicle was ambushed by four assailants on two motorbikes in the Jiwani area of Gwadar District in Balochistan.

22 June

Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that drone strikes are against Pakistan's sovereignty. During the weekly news briefing, the spokesperson said that Pakistan's policy regarding drone strikes had always been clear. The FO's statement came a day after a Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder jet shot down an unmanned Iranian drone allegedly on a spying mission in Balochistan's Panjgur area.

23 June

 A series of bombings in Quetta and Parachinar leads to the death of over 90 people.

24 June

At least 67 persons were killed and more than 200 injured in back-to-back explosions in the Turi Bazaar area of Parachinar, Kurram Agency FATA

25 June

Pakistan has deployed a 15,000-strong military force to protect Chinese nationals working on energy and infrastructure projects in the country, President Mamnoon Hussain said.

27 June

A high value BLA militant, identified as Abdul Rasool Alias Ustad/Borjon/Boss, along with his group surrendered to SFs.

30 June

Women rights activist and founder of the first female jirga, Tabassum Adnan, survived in an armed attack conducted by unidentified assailants in Saidu Sharif Police Station, Swat.

6 July

Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakariya said that there was no organised presence of any terror outfit, including TTP, JuA, Daesh and al Qaeda on Pakistani soil.

8 July

The NSC said peace and progress in the region was directly linked to resolution of all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

12 July

A report of the PILDAT shared at a public forum has stated that terrorist activities in Punjab have declined by 33 per cent. Punjab has apparently improved its performance in the implementation of the NAP during first quarter (January-March) of 2017

16 July

The DG of ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor announced the launch of Operation Khyber-4 under Radd-ul-Fasaad to "wipe out terrorists" in the Rajgal Valley, FATA.

19 July

The United States listed Pakistan among nations that provide "safe havens" to terrorists to operate. It also stated that India continued to be a victim of attacks "including by Maoist insurgents and Pakistan-based terrorists". In its annual 'Country Report on Terrorism',

21 July

The ISPR said a major achievement was achieved in Operation Khyber-4 when troops including SSG successfully cleared the highest mountain top Brekh Muhammad Kandao near Pak-Afghan border in Khyber Agency of FATA.

24 July

At least 26 persons, including nine Policemen, were killed and 56 others injured in a suicide blast near the Arfa Karim IT Tower on the Ferozepur Road of Lahore,

26 July

A religious scholar and leader of the JUI-F, Maulana Haq Nawaz Haqqani, was  shot dead in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda District in KP.

28 July

 A unanimous verdict by the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualifies Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office, over the controversy of him and some of his family members names being in the Panama Papers, thus leading to his resignation.

30 July

Haji Daud Mehsud, a senior leader of the TTP, has declared allegiance to Daesh.

1 August

 Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is sworn in as Prime Minister, succeeding Nawaz Sharif.

The TTP released the first edition of a magazine for women, apparently aiming to convince its target readership to join the militant group and take up jihad.

7 August

One person was killed and 37 others were injured in a truck bomb that ripped through Bund Road area of Lahore.

9 August

Four Army personnel, including a major, and two suicide bombers were killed during an operation in an attempting to foil a terrorist attack in Sherotkai area of Timergara in Lower Dir District of KP.

12 August

15 people, among them eight soldiers, were killed and 40 others injured when a suicide bomber targeted a military truck near the Pishin in Quetta,

21 August

Punjab Police successfully recovered the seven Policemen, who were kidnapped by a group of bandits from the Kacha area of Rajanpur District,

US President Donald Trump cleared the way for the deployment of thousands more US troops to Afghanistan, backtracking from his promise to rapidly end America´s longest war,

22 August

Minister for Defence Engineer Khurram Dastgir rejected the allegations of US President Donald Trump saying there is no safe haven for terrorists in Pakistan,

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the Government of Pakistan would be in danger if Taliban were not controlled. The United States again urged India and Pakistan to engage in direct dialogue to reduce tension,

23 August

The COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that Pakistan was not looking for any material or financial assistance from the US, but wants to be trusted and treated with respect, according to a statement issued by the ISPR. "We are not looking for any material or financial assistance from USA but trust, understanding and acknowledgement of our contributions,"

24 August

Pakistan's top civilian and military leadership strongly rejected US President Donald Trump's allegations of insincerity and duplicity in the fight against terrorism.

The Senate was told that Pakistan suffered the loss of USD 107 billion (PKR 11,275 billion) in the war on terror.

Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif accused Pakistan's former ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani of authoring US President Donald Trump's South Asia policy.

27 August

Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said that Afghan Taliban was the US and Afghanistan's problem, not Pakistan's. He added that Pakistan had suffered a great deal for being an ally of the US and the latter should stop pinning the blame for its own 16 years of failures.

Minister Khawaja Asif said that Afghan soldiers used to sell US weapons to Afghan Taliban. Forty percent of Afghan land is still under the control of Taliban. Over 90 percent attacks on Pakistan had been carried out from Afghan side.

28 August

Pakistan has temporarily suspended talks with the US as well as official bilateral visits in protest against President Donald Trump's speech in which he censured Islamabad while proposing a new policy on Afghanistan,

America's security aid to Pakistan "will be conditioned" on the steps Islamabad takes against terrorist groups such as the Taliban and the Haqqani network, a senior White House official

31 August

The investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is completed.

2 September

NAB suggests freezing of Sharif’s assets in Panama case.

8 September

NAB files 4 references against Sharif family.

10 September

12 people drown saving each other at Hawke’s Bay beach Karachi.

12- 15 September

Independence Cup final played in Lahore.

17 September

PML-N wins back seat vacated by Nawaz Sharif in NA-120 by-polls.

22 September

Senate removes clause barring disqualified MPA’s from holding party offices.

27 September

Pak-Turk school’s former principal  and family was kidnapped by unidentified people.

3 October

Nawaz Sharif was reelected as PML-N chairman unopposed in general council meeting.

5 October

18 people died in suicide attack on a Sufi shrine at Jhal Magsi Fatahpur Balochistan.

8 October

Justice Javed Iqbal was appointed as NAB chief.

12 October

Army rescues American family kidnapped in 2012 in Afghanistan

15 October

An army officer and three frontier Corps personnel were martyred in Kurram IED attack.

18 October

Six policemen martyred in Quetta suicide blast.

27 October

Indian spy drone was shot down by Army in AJk.

29 october

Cricket comes home, Srilankan team visits Pakistan after 2009 attack.

2 November

Only daughter of Quiad-e-Azam Dina Wadia passed away.

5 November

Tehreek-e-labaik chairman Khadim Hussain Rizvi staged a protest in Islamabad over the changes in the oath.

8 November

PSP and MQM-P decides to contest elections as one party.

9 November

Senior police officer with his two colleagues martyred in suicide blast in Quetta.

15 November

15 people were massacred in Kech Balochistan; they were trying to slip into Europe via Iran.

16 November

Khatam-e-Nabuwat constitutional clause was put back into its original form.

24 November

Additional Inspector General (AIG) KP police Ashraf Noor was martyred in suicide attack in Peshawar.

25 November

Government started operation on Faizabad sit-in protesters.

27 November

Tehreek-e-labaik ends 20 days long sit-in after army seal the deal.

1 December

Terrorists attacked agriculture training institute in Peshawar, 9 people died and 37 got injured in the attack.

15 December

Reference seeking Imran Khan disqualification ruled out by SC.

17 December

At least 9 members of Christian community were killed in a suicide attack on church in Quetta. 

 

Compiled by Ayesha Hafeez