[Facts] Musharraf's Career

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Nov. 3 in a bid to reassert his flagging authority against challenges from Islamist militants, a hostile judiciary and political rivals.

He swore a new oath of office Nov. 29, 2007 as a civilian president, a day after bowing to intense international pressure by stepping down as head of the powerful army.

Here are some main events in his political career.

Up to the emergency

- Oct. 7, 1998: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appoints General Musharraf army chief but their relationship breaks down over the Kargil border conflict with India the next year.

- Oct. 13, 1999: Musharraf takes power following a bloodless coup after Sharif sacked Musharraf a day earlier while the general was on his way back from Sri Lanka. The country was virtually bankrupt and the coup was relatively popular. Sharif is sent into exile a year later.

- June 20, 2001: Musharraf is sworn in as president but retains his army chief post.

- Sept. 12, 2001: A day after al Qaeda attacked the United States, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell tells Musharraf: "You are either with us or against us". A week later, Musharraf announces Pakistan has joined the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

- April 30, 2002: Musharraf wins a controversial referendum on extending his rule for five more years.

- July 6, 2002: Musharraf imposes laws effectively barring former prime ministers Sharif and now assassinated Benazir Bhutto from power.

- Dec. 14 and 25, 2003: Musharraf survives two al-Qaeda inspired assassination attempts in Rawalpindi. Low-ranking army and air force personnel are implicated in the first attack.

- Dec. 24, 2003: Musharraf announces he will step down as army chief by the end of 2004, but announces he is going back on his pledge on Dec. 30, 2004.

- January 2004: Musharraf and India's then prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, agree to a peace dialogue less than two years after the nuclear-armed nations went to the brink of war. The neighbors have fought three wars since 1947.

- October 2005: Musharraf rallies the country and the army emerges with credit for leading relief efforts after an earthquake kills 73,000 people.

- September 2006: Musharraf launches his autobiography "In the Line of Fire" in New York.

- March 9, 2007: Musharraf suspends Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on allegations of misconduct. Lawyers rally to the top judge and Musharraf's popularity plummets as their pro-democracy campaign draws support.

- July 6: Assassins try to kill Musharraf, but his plane had taken off and was far away before they opened fire from a rooftop close to the military airfield in Rawalpindi.

- July 10: After a week-long siege, Musharraf orders troops to storm the Red Mosque in Islamabad to crush a Taliban-style movement. At least 105 people are killed.

- July 20: Supreme Court reinstates Chief Justice Chaudhry, dealing a blow to Musharraf's authority.

- Sept. 10: Sharif tries to return from exile but is arrested at Islamabad airport and deported to Saudi Arabia, despite having clearance from the Supreme Court to return.

- Sept. 18: Musharraf's lawyers tell the Supreme Court he will quit as army chief if re-elected president.

- Oct. 2: Musharraf designates the former head of the main intelligence agency, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, as his successor as army chief. The government announces it is ready to drop corruption charges against Bhutto.

- Oct. 6: Musharraf wins most votes in a presidential election but has to wait for the Supreme Court to confirm the legality of his re-election.

- Oct. 19: About 139 people were killed by an attempted suicide bomb assassination of Bhutto during a procession through Karachi on returning from eight years of self-imposed exile.

- Nov. 2: Supreme Court reconvenes to hear challenges whether Musharraf was eligible to stand for re-election by parliament on Oct. 6.

- Nov. 3: Musharraf imposes emergency rule.

After the emergency

- Nov. 3: Citing a growing Islamic militancy and a meddling judiciary, Musharraf suspends the constitution and imposes emergency rule. Top judges are sacked.

- Nov. 4: Police crack down on the opposition. Cricket hero Imran Khan is placed under house arrest. The United States, a key Musharraf ally, voices concern.

- Nov. 5: Police use tear gas and batons against protesters, mostly lawyers, in several cities. The White House says it is deeply disturbed.

- Nov. 6: Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the sacked chief justice, urges people to rise up but is soon silenced.

- Nov. 7: Main opposition leader Benazir Bhutto announces plans for mass protests. US President George W. Bush issues a "very frank" call to Musharraf to hold fair elections and step down as head of the army.

- Nov. 9: Hours before a planned rally in the city of Rawalpindi, police put Bhutto under house arrest at her Islamabad home. The order is later lifted.

- Nov. 11: Musharraf says parliament will be dissolved on November 15 and elections should be held by January 9, but indicates emergency rule will stay in place.

- Nov. 12: Bhutto rules out further power-sharing talks with Musharraf. She is placed under house arrest again to prevent her leading a mass procession.

- Nov. 13: Bhutto for the first time urges Musharraf to resign and says she will never serve under him as prime minister.

- Nov. 14: Imran Khan is arrested and charged under anti-terror legislation after emerging from hiding to join a protest.

- Nov. 15: A senior official says Musharraf will leave the army by December 1. The president names Senate chairman Mohammedmian Soomro to head a caretaker government.

- Nov. 16: Musharraf swears in the interim government. Bhutto is freed from house arrest. US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte arrives in Islamabad and speaks to Bhutto by telephone.

- Nov. 17: Negroponte spends a day talking to Musharraf and other senior political and military officials.

- Nov. 18: Negroponte leaves, demanding a swift end to emergency rule, which he says "is not compatible" with free elections.

- Nov. 19: The Supreme Court, now packed with compliant judges, swats away five of six challenges against Musharraf's re-election as president.

- Nov. 20: Authorities announce January 8 as the date for general elections and begin freeing more than 5,500 political prisoners. Musharraf visits Saudi Arabia but officials deny reports that he has met Sharif there.

- Nov. 22: The Supreme Court dismisses the final challenge to Musharraf's re-election. The Commonwealth suspends Pakistan for violating the grouping's fundamental values.

- Nov. 23: The Supreme Court rules that Musharraf was justified in imposing emergency rule.

- Nov. 24: Twin suicide bombings in Rawalpindi kill at least 20 including security force members. Sharif's party says he will return from exile on November 25.

- Nov. 25: Sharif arrives in the eastern city of Lahore where thousands of supporters are gathered to give him a rousing welcome.

- Nov. 26: Bhutto and Sharif file their nomination papers for the election. Musharraf's office announces he will resign from the army on Wednesday and take a new oath as a civilian leader on Thursday.

- Nov. 27: Musharraf bids farewell to his troops and senior officers in a series of ceremonies at the army, navy and air force headquarters.

- Nov. 28: Musharraf hands over the baton of army command to his successor General Ashfaq Kiyani in a full military ceremony.

- Nov. 29: Now in civilian clothes, Musharraf swears a new oath for a second term as president and, in a speech, brushes off pressure to end the state of emergency.

Dec. 9 - Sharif says he will take part in Jan. 8 election.

Dec. 15 - Musharraf lifts state of emergency and restores the constitution.

Dec. 27 - Bhutto is assassinated in a gun and bomb attack after a rally in Rawalpindi. Violence flares in Pakistan as angry supporters of Bhutto take to the streets.

Dec. 30 - Bhutto's 19-year-old son is appointed chairman of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) along with his father, Asif Ali Zardari, who is to be co-chairman.

Jan 2 - The election commission says polling not possible on Jan. 8, and delays the election to Feb. 18.