1997 in Pakistan

Events from the year 1997 in Pakistan.

Incumbents

Federal government

• President: Farooq Leghari (until 2 December), Wasim Sajjad (acting) (starting 2 December)
• Prime Minister: Malik Meraj Khalid (until 17 February), Nawaz Sharif (starting 17 February)
• Chief Justice: Sajjad Ali Shah (until 2 December), Ajmal Mian

Governors

• Governor of Balochistan – Imran Ullah Khan (until 22 April); Miangul Aurangzeb (starting 22 April)
• Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Arif Bangash
• Governor of Punjab – Khawaja Tariq Rahim (until 11 March); Shahid Hamid (starting 11 March)
• Governor of Sindh – Kamaluddin Azfar (until 17 March); Moinuddin Haider (starting 17 March)

Events

March

• 3 February – General elections are held.

August

• 14 August – Pakistan celebrates 50 years of independence from British rule.

November

• 13 November – Nawaz Sharif promises US president Bill Clinton he will find those responsible for the killing of four US businessmen and their Pakistani driver.
• 26 November – Pakistan's first motorway linking Islamabad to Lahore is opened.

December

• 2 December – Pakistan's president, Farooq Leghari, resigns. Wasim Sajjad becomes interim president for the second time.

Births

• 20 May – Shazia Masih, torture victim (died 2010)
• 12 July – Malala Yousafzai, activist for female education

Deaths

• 16 August – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani Qawwali artist (b. 1948)