Following is a timeline showing the events that led to the imposition of Islamic law in seven districts of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, bordering Afghanistan.

July 2007: The military deploys troops in Swat Valley, once a popular tourist destination 250 kilometers (160 miles) from Islamabad. Militants had attacked police in the area following a raid on the Red Mosque in the capital.

August- Sept. 2007: Maulana Fazlullah, a pro-Taliban cleric supported by more than 4,500 armed volunteers, sets up a parallel government in 59 villages by establishing Islamic courts.

October 2007: More troops deployed to curb pro-Taliban militants led by Fazlullah. At least 30 people, including security forces, are killed when their truck explodes in Swat's Mingora town.

Oct. 29,2007: Pro-Taliban militants and government troops agree on a cease-fire.

Nov. 1,2007: Security forces kill as many as 70 militants using helicopter gun ships in two days of fighting after the truce cease-fire collapses.

Nov. 17,2007: About 100 militants killed in four days of fighting as 1,500 security personnel are deployed.

Nov. 27,2007: Soldiers seize Najia Top, the tallest peak in the region, and shut down the militants' clandestine radio station.

Nov. 28,2007: Security forces say they have ousted almost all pro-Taliban militants after 10 days of fighting in the valley, killing 230 insurgents. At least 90 militants were arrested.

Nov. 29,2007: Fazlullah's brother Fazal-e-Ahad is arrested while trying to flee.

Dec. 6,2007: Security forces secure tourist resorts in Swat. Soldiers demolish Fazlullah's house after recovering machine guns, pistols, hand grenades and rocket launchers. The cleric's religious school is also destroyed.

Dec. 9,2007: A suicide bomber kills 11 people, including three policemen, in an attack on a checkpoint at Ninwalai, Swat.

Dec. 26,2007: Then president Pervez Musharraf says the army is defeating militants in the Swat Valley.

Jan. 17,2008: The army says it has taken control of Swat after a three-month operation during which 36 soldiers and nine civilians were killed and 615 people arrested.

Jan. 22,2008: Soldiers arrest 35 pro-Taliban militants, including Moulvi Habib, an aide of Fazlullah.

Feb. 22,2008: A bomb explodes in the valley, killing 13 people.

April 22,2008: Sufi Muhammad, a militant cleric and leader of Tehrik-e-Nifaaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi released as part of a peace deal to end violence in Swat. Muhammad, Fazlullah's father-in- law, was jailed in 2001 when he fled to Pakistan after leading troops to Afghanistan.

June 10,2008: The government scraps the peace deal saying Taliban militants reneged on their pledge to end violence.

June 19,2008: Muhammad Zamir Khan, a leader of the religious Jamaat-e-Islaami party gunned down in Swat.

June 26,2008: Militants set fire to Swat's four-story Malam Jabba ski resort 2,650 meters (8,700 feet) above sea level in the Karakoram mountain range, damaging its 60 rooms.

June 27,2008: The provincial government of North West Frontier Province says it is pursuing cease-fire talks with militants after the ski resort was destroyed.

July 29,2008: Nine militants and five civilians killed in clashes in Matta. Militants kidnapped 25 security personnel in Swat, prompting the government to restart operations.

Aug. 5,2008: Security forces kill 94 militants in five days of fighting, including commander Ali Bakht.

Sept. 3,2008: Security forces shelled a rebel hideout and killed 10 militants.

Oct. 14,2008: The military says it controls most parts of the valley after killing or ousting militants. Security forces say they killed 25 militants in Kwazakhela town.

Jan. 29,2009: Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visits Swat and pledges to restore government authority.

Feb. 3: At least 35 militants are killed by troops and jets. Several thousand citizens of the valley have fled.

Feb. 16: The government agrees to impose Islamic law in the area to end two years of fighting during which 180 schools were destroyed, education for girls banned and government officials beheaded. Talks are conducted between the government of the North West Frontier Province and Sufi Muhammad. Militants declare a 10-day cease-fire.

Feb. 20: Fazlullah says he has "reservations" about the peace accord.

Feb. 24: The army stops operations against militants in Swat after the peace deal. U.S. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke says he is troubled by the agreement.

March 2: Sufi Muhammad sets March 15 as the deadline for the government to set up Islamic courts in the area.

April 9: Taliban militants from Swat storm the nearby district of Buner, killing five people. Sufi Muhammad threatens to withdraw from the peace accord to protest a delay by President Asif Ali Zardari in approving the imposition of Islamic law.

April 13: Parliamentarians in the 342-seat lower house approve the imposition of Islamic law in the so-called Provincially Administered Tribal Area, which includes seven districts. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which has 25 seats, is the only party that doesn't support the new law.

April 14: President Zardari approves the Nizam-e-Adl, or Justice System, under which conventional courts are to be replaced by Shariah courts from this day. Sufi Muhammad's group guarantees the Taliban will accept the writ of the government.

April 15: Muhammad tells thousands of his supporters in a speech in Swat that militants will be immune from prosecution in Shariah courts. He also says democracy, elections and conventional courts are not Islamic.

April 16: The Supreme Court frees Maulana Abdul Aziz on bail. Aziz, the cleric from the Red Mosque in Islamabad who had led a campaign to impose Islamic law in the capital, speaks in favor of the Swat deal.

April 20: Ten people are kidnapped in Swat. Instead of laying down their arms in line with the peace deal, Taliban capture Buner, patrol the streets and prevent the government from functioning. Sufi Muhammad gives the government till April 23 to fully implement the new law by appointing Shariah judges and abolishing conventional courts. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani dismisses U. S. Concern over the peace accord.

April 22: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Pakistan's government is abdicating to the Taliban. Gilani says the government may rethink the agreement as the Taliban encroaches on other areas. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says his main opposition party is asking for a review of the peace accord, after supporting it in a parliamentary vote.

April 23: The North West Frontier Province seeks to extend the deadline for appointing Islamic judges. Taliban enter the district of Shangla and patrol the streets.

April 24: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani says Pakistan "can and will" defend itself from militants. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif proposes a national conference on militancy. Taliban begin retreating from Buner.

April 26: U.S. Secretary of State says Pakistan cannot let atomic arsenal fall to Taliban. Pakistan starts a military operation in Dir after 12 children are killed when a bomb hidden in a toy explodes in Lower Dir on April 25.

April 27: Sufi Muhammad's group suspends peace talks with the government, saying it won't negotiate while the military operation is ongoing. Troops continue an assault in Dir, one of the districts covered by the peace accord. President Zardari says his intelligence agencies believe al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden is dead, though acknowledges they have no evidence of his death.

April 28: Security forces begin an assault against 500 militants occupying Buner, one of the districts under Islamic law. Sufi Muhammad's group warns of a "storm" cross Pakistan if the peace accord ends. One million people in the northwest are displaced, according to the relief commissioner in the province.

April 29: The military takes control of Daggar, the main town in Buner district. The army says Taliban guerillas are using as many as 2,000 civilians as human shields. Troops secure the release of 18 out of 70 security personnel being held by Taliban.

April 30: Taliban militants are kidnapping civilians for ransom, the military says, and setting fire to government and police buildings. U. S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates asks Congress to approve $400 million to equip and train Pakistan's military.

May 1: The military pledges to show "zero tolerance" to Taliban militants.

May 2: Tehrik-e-Nifaaz Shariat Muhammadi, the pro-Taliban group that negotiated the peace accord with the government, rejects Islamic judges appointed by the government.

May 3: The military says at least 200 militants in the districts of Lower Dir and Buner have been killed since the operation began on April 26. Militants behead two soldiers captured in Swat and patrol the streets in Mingora, the main town, threatening the lives of civilians. The military says Taliban guerillas are using 2,000 people are human shields.

May 4: Thousands of civilians flee Swat as militants prepare to resist the military operation.

May 5: Taliban militants attack security forces in Swat Valley. Two soldiers are killed. The government says 500,000 people will flee Swat.

May 6: Security forces kill 35 militants in an exchange of gunfire near emerald mines in Swat. Militants continue to attack security forces, occupy homes and government buildings and loot banks, according to the military. Two soldiers are killed.

May 7: Kifayatullah, the eldest son of pro-Taliban cleric  is killed in mortar shelling on his house in Swat.

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