• Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • About
  • Contact

Cold War

Before, During, and After the Cold War

  • Podcast
  • Red Scare
  • Cuba
  • Iran
  • Urbanization
  • Spy
  • Afghanistan
  • Taiwan
  • Vietnam
  • Timelines

COLD WAR TIMELINE: PAKISTAN

May 2, 2011 by Lisa Reynolds Wolfe

Given the death of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, yesterday, it’s safe to say that Pakistan will be in the headlines for days to come. A Cold War timeline gives us a quick picture of Pakistan’s — often stormy —  relationship with the US.

1945: PAKISTAN was an idea, not a state. The original idea of a Pakistani state revolved around creating a homeland for Indian Muslims where they would not be dominated by the Hindu majority in a “one-man-one-vote” democracy. The assumption was that if Pakistan were to become a state, both Pakistan and India would remain dependent on Britain.

1947: Jinnah, the leading figure in the Pakistan movement, and Mohammed Iqbal, a poet-philosopher whose ideas underpinned the Pakistan movement, argued that the Islamic nature of a new Pakistan would enhance the defense of the South Asia subcontinent.

1947: Pakistan became a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations and, thus, a Cold War ally of the United States.

1954: Pakistan and Iraq signed mutual cooperation agreements with Turkey (a NATO) member.

1954: Pakistan signed a Mutual Defense Agreement with the US.

1955: Britain and Iran entered into security arrangements, and the ‘Middle East Defence Organization’, popularly known as the ‘Baghdad Pact’, was formed. It was loosely modeled on NATO. The US never became a full member. (The Baghdad Pact later became known as CENTO).

1955 (February): Pakistan became a member of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), also called the Manila Pact. Like CENTO, it was designed to be a regional NATO that would block communist advances in Southeast Asia.

1958: The name of the Baghdad Pact was formally changed to the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) after the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown. CENTO had little formal structure but it dd give the US and Britain access to facilities in Pakistan such as an airbase outside of Peshawar from which U-2 intelligence flights over the Soviet Union were launched.

1965: Indo-Pakistani War. The US suspended the arms shipments to Pakistan that the country had received in return for its membership in SEATO and CENTO. The US also suspended arms shipments to India. The embargo remained in place during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and was not lifted until 1975.

1971 (July): Pakistan facilitated a secret visit by US National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger to Beijing. This visit led to a de facto US-China alignment directed against the Soviet Union. Pakistan took full credit for making this breakthrough possible. Some say that this signaled the beginning of the end of the Cold War because the communist movement was now seen as having a crack. From now on, the US made a distinction between major Communist powers that were friendly (China), and those that were antagonistic (the Soviet Union).

1971: Pakistan descended into civil war after East Pakistan demanded autonomy and, later, independence. India invaded East Pakistan in support of its people after millions of civilians fled to India. At the end of 1971, Pakistan was partitioned and Bangladesh was created out of East Pakistan. The Bangladesh movement received widespread public support in the US, as did India’s military intervention. But the US government supported Pakistan, valuing the alliance over human rights violations by the Pakistani army and good relations with India.

1971: After the war, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto becomes president of Pakistan. He believed that Pakistan had been deceived and betrayed by the US, and embarked on a policy that would lesson Pakistan’s dependence on the US.

  • He moved to bolster Pakistan’s Islamic identity, creating new and strong ties with Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other Islamic states.
  • Pakistan became a key member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a group that had been founded in 1969.
  • He stressed Pakistan’s non-aligned and ‘developing’ credentials. He called his new policy ‘bilateralism’, implying neutrality in the Cold War.
  • He withdrew Pakistan from SEATO and military links with the West declined.
  • When CENTO was disbanded following the fall of the Shah of Iran in early 1979, Pakistan became a member of the nonaligned movement.

1974: India conducted a ‘peaceful nuclear explosion’ or weapons test. Pakistan reversed its past policy and initiated a secret nuclear weapons program in response.

1970s (late): Nuclear issues became the sticking point of Pakistan’s relations with its former Western allies, especially the US. Cold War alliances became formally defunct.

1977 (June): SEATO was dissolved.

1979: CENTO is dissolved after the Iranian Revolution. It had never been a militarily effective organization.

[SEATO like CENTO had regional and non-regional members. France, the US, and Britain were members, as were New Zealand and Australia. Regional states included Thailand, the Philippines and Pakistan. SEATO was never formally involved in the Vietnam War, in part because of Pakistan’s objection.]

1979 (December): The Soviets invaded Afghanistan. This revived the close relationship between Pakistan and the US.

1980s (early): Pakistan strategists concluded that with a bomb they could provoke and probe India without fear of escalating to a nuclear conflict or large-scale war.

1981: Ronald Reagan offered to provide $3.2 billion to Pakistan over a period of 6 years, to be equally divided between economic and military assistance.

1985: The US Congress passed the Pressler Amendment which required the president to certify to Congress on an annual basis that Pakistan did not possess a nuclear weapon. Otherwise, assistance to Pakistan would be cut off. For several years, President Reagan and President H.W. Bush provided the certification required for a waiver.

1986: The US announced a second package of assistance of over $4.0 billion. 57% of this amount was for economic assistance.

1989: The US ended assistance to Pakistan. With the withdrawal of the Soviets from Afghanistan and the end of the Cold War, the US discovered that it can no longer certify the absence of nuclear weapons.

1989-2001: Pakistan’s nuclear program remains the core issue in its relations with the US.

2001: The 9/11 attacks lead to a revival of the US-Pakistan alliance. The George W. Bush administration very quickly eliminates many sanctions against Pakistan. Washington declares Pakistan to be a ‘major non-NATO ally’, entitling it to buy certain military equipment at reduced prices. Pakistan serves as a support base for the US war against Afghanistan, and as a partner in tracking down al-Queda and Taliban leaders. A massive military and economic assistance program for Pakistan is initiated in return.

2008: The US Congress accuses Pakistan of not pulling its weight in combating radical extremism in Afghanistan and in Pakistan itself.

2011 (May 1): Osama bin Laden, the force behind the attacks on New York’s World Trade Center in September 2001, is killed in Abbotabad, Pakistan, by US Navy SEALS.

If you enjoyed this article about Pakistan during the Cold War, you may want to look at some related posts. Just click on the links below.

SUPERPOWER INTERVENTION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

AFGHANISTAN AND AMERICAN POLICY

Timelines:

IRAN TIMELINE: COLD WAR

KOREAN WAR TIMELINE

Filed Under: Middle East

About Lisa Reynolds Wolfe

Widely published, Lisa holds a Ph.D. in Politics from New York University and a Master of Science in Policy Analysis and Public Management from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Areas of particular interest and expertise include Cold War Studies, sustainable development, heritage, and the environment.

Comments

  1. fariha says

    July 16, 2011 at 7:05 pm

    well organised and informative

  2. Lisa Reynolds Wolfe says

    July 16, 2011 at 8:10 pm

    Thanks Fariha. Good to hear from you.
    Lisa

  3. iPakistani says

    July 18, 2011 at 8:29 am

    Correct the following:
    1954- It was Pakistan and Iran (Not Iraq) that signed a partnership with Turkey.
    2011 – Osama (Not Obama) Bin Laden is killed in Abbotabad.

  4. Lisa Reynolds Wolfe says

    July 18, 2011 at 8:58 am

    Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow Adnan. I’m the last person to want to make the Osama/Obama mistake.
    The Pakistan and Iraq information is sourced from Stephen P. Cohen, “Pakistan and the Cold War”, Superpower Rivalry and Conflict:
    The long shadow of the Cold War on the twenty-first century
    , Edited by Chandra Chari, published by Routledge (London and New York), 2010.
    Please come back often.
    Lisa

  5. mirza hassan says

    October 5, 2011 at 7:53 am

    This is good article regarding pakistan us relations but some important events are missing. Pak China relation, Bhutto had soft corner to become ally to ussr. And how these two important events impact on Pak US relation. hope u will rectify these article and also to be updated it.

  6. Lisa Reynolds Wolfe says

    October 5, 2011 at 8:06 am

    Thanks Mirza. I’ll certainly dig deeper when I have a chance.

  7. daood abraham says

    June 7, 2012 at 2:43 pm

    Good efforts but there are many missing chapters which must be integrated to view a good picture of the issue/title, especially the role in cold war and the end result

  8. Pakistan politics says

    July 14, 2012 at 6:03 am

    Very nice, thanks to author 🙂

  9. A greatful student says

    May 19, 2013 at 6:27 pm

    Great job! This was very helpful on my contemporary world history project!

  10. rehana farooq says

    July 19, 2013 at 12:41 am

    best article … this was very helpful 4 making my msc pak studies assignment

  11. ciara says

    April 22, 2014 at 9:46 pm

    so helpful!

    was wondering if you had a reading list/works cited for this timeline?

  12. Lisa Reynolds Wolfe says

    April 24, 2014 at 11:06 am

    So sorry to be slow in responding. I’ve been traveling with very limited internet access. I don’t have a reading list for the timeline. It’s a great idea though!

  13. iakovos says

    June 7, 2015 at 2:30 pm

    Russia vs Turkey : The Geopolitics of the South & the Turk Stream Pipelines

    https://iakal.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/russia-vs-turkey-the-geopolitics-of-tuth-the-turk-stream-pipelines/

  14. Lisa Reynolds Wolfe says

    June 7, 2015 at 3:15 pm

    I haven’t read this, but I’m happy to post.

  15. Khan says

    June 11, 2015 at 2:29 pm

    You should tell us about the economy’ political leaders and the life style of the people during the cold war

  16. Lisa Reynolds Wolfe says

    June 11, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    Thanks much for the good ideas!

  17. Sanaa says

    November 26, 2016 at 4:32 am

    thanks for the post, you ve summarized all the events in a simple way, easy to remember 🙂

Follow Us On Twitter

Cold War Studies Follow

A Cold War historian, Lisa holds a Ph.D. in Politics from New York University and a MS in Policy Analysis and Public Management from SUNY Stony Brook.

Avatar
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
12h

Check out this article from @nytimes. Because I'm a subscriber, you can read it through this gift link without a subscription. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/opinion/sunday/knitting-fabric-michelle-obama.html?unlocked_article_code=1ew_IOkoQKL6pwCvaRQwqw7kaWYxQwBmX4RM8ZwtFdZYqpOghTnXUxbK7NmSwILpgVkTsehpl3Au4GhqUs1-dQP4onemJRdEVXYlONemCl8eqaGxUhfyGFeV0mwhRgrGJBllB6l7bc09s40JuyYDCn-Pzj_QRnzJRPcBVqRfaOwmRVceyoxIxg3hjSG4aJC0jFK7rVqZ3d-HPGkCAInMKNtJNaRye6_h-msXKJWjY1ipfpuF4gvQQjACg6r618EQKLx4kY3mXwdfk4DYZAbtqtAoHTE9btePy6OljFN7QC_ZDdcEA_0JCp2Cqwlnrht_EQUuLBsVhjEs-doVEvBw0WJ9hFHqwu9kVp9GTguk1Q&smid=tw-share

Reply on Twitter 1619318960922714113 Retweet on Twitter 1619318960922714113 Like on Twitter 1619318960922714113 Twitter 1619318960922714113
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
25 Jan

Cold War Nuclear Bunker Lures Tourists Worried About New Threats https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/world/canada/diefenbunker-museum-ottawa.html?smid=tw-share

Reply on Twitter 1618235296033943554 Retweet on Twitter 1618235296033943554 Like on Twitter 1618235296033943554 Twitter 1618235296033943554
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
13 Jan

UWS Has Grown More Than Any Manhattan Nabe Since Pandemic: Study https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/uws-has-grown-more-any-manhattan-nabe-pandemic-study?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=share

Reply on Twitter 1613907759782858752 Retweet on Twitter 1613907759782858752 Like on Twitter 1613907759782858752 Twitter 1613907759782858752
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
13 Jan

In Captain America Cold War: Steve and Sam https://www.theworkprint.com/in-captain-america-cold-war-steve-and-sam/123

Reply on Twitter 1613905207896772608 Retweet on Twitter 1613905207896772608 Like on Twitter 1613905207896772608 Twitter 1613905207896772608
Load More

Affiliate Disclosure

Cold War Studies is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn a small commission by advertising and linking to amazon.com. You never pay more if you puchase your Amazon product from one of our links. Thanks for supporting Cold War Studies!

 

How Much Do You Know About the Cold War?

Want to find out how much you really know about the Cold War. Click here to take our quiz. 

 

Most Popular Posts

Cold War Fashion: The Early Years (1950s-1960s)

History of Colonization in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): Precursor to Cold War Conflict

Cold War Chile

The Rise of Fast Fashion: Globalization and Waste

The Red Scare

10 Little Known Facts About the Peace Sign

Immigration to the US During the Cold War

The First Red Scare: A Timeline

Korean War Music

Cold War Argentina: The Dirty War

The Cold War: Decolonization and Conflict in the Third World

Check Out Our Red Scare White Paper

Read all about the Red Scare. Just click on the cover below.

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in