TIMELINE: Pakistan's spiral into emergency rule and beyond

(Reuters) - Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister President Pervez Musharraf overthrew in a military coup eight years ago, will return to Pakistan from exile in a few days, his party chairman told Reuters on Friday.

The news came a day after the country was suspended from the Commonwealth following a failure to meet a deadline set by the grouping to lift emergency rule.

Here is a chronology of major political events over recent months.

March 9, 2007 - Musharraf suspends Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on allegations of misconduct. Lawyers rally around the top judge and Musharraf's popularity plummets.

July 10 - Musharraf orders troops to storm the Red Mosque in Islamabad to crush a Taliban-style movement based there. At least 105 people are killed. A wave of militant attacks and suicide bombings follow.

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

July 27 - Musharraf meets former premier Benazir Bhutto in Abu Dhabi to thrash out how to move the country towards a civilian-led democracy. Bhutto sets conditions including that Musharraf step down as army chief. Talks are inconclusive.

Sept 10 - Nawaz Sharif is arrested at Islamabad airport, despite the Supreme Court clearing his return.

Oct 2 - Musharraf designates a successor as army chief. The government announces it is dropping corruption charges against Bhutto, clearing the way for her return.

Oct 6 - Musharraf wins the most votes in a presidential election but he must wait for the Supreme Court to confirm the legality of his bid before being declared the winner.

Oct 19 - Suicide bomber tries to assassinate Bhutto in Karachi as she returns from eight years of self-imposed exile. Nearly 140 people are killed in one of the country's deadliest attacks.

Nov 2 - Supreme Court reconvenes to decide if Musharraf was eligible to stand for re-election while still army chief.

-- Official sources say about 800 people have died, more than half of them in suicide bombings, since the storming of the Red Mosque.

Nov 3 - Musharraf imposes emergency rule.

Nov 6 - Bhutto says she will not meet or negotiate with Musharraf.

Nov 9 - Bhutto freed from house arrest, hours after she is stopped from leaving her Islamabad home to lead a protest rally.

Nov 11 - Musharraf says national election will be held by January 9 but under a state of emergency.

-- Musharraf also says he will quit the military and be sworn in as a civilian president as soon as the Supreme Court throws out challenges to his October 6 re-election.

Nov 12 - Britain backs a 10-day Commonwealth ultimatum for Musharraf to end the emergency and quit as army chief.

Nov 13 - Bhutto placed under house arrest for a week in Lahore, hours before planned march against emergency rule. Bhutto says that Musharraf must quit as president.

Nov 14 - Sharif says he is ready to work with Bhutto.

Nov 15 - Musharraf appoints Senate chairman Mohammadmian Soomro to head a caretaker line-up to oversee elections.

Nov 22 - Commonwealth suspends Pakistan.

Sources: Reuters

(Writing by David Cutler and Gill Murdoch, London Editorial Reference Unit, editing by David Fogarty)