Updated

Chronology of Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto, 54, returned to Pakistan on Thursday, Oct. 18, more than eight years after she left to avoid corruption charges.

The following are some of the key events in her career:

—April 4, 1979 — Bhutto's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, is executed for the murder of a political opponent, two years after his ouster as prime minister in a military coup.

—April 10, 1986 — Bhutto returns from exile in London to lead the Pakistan People's Party that her father founded.

—Dec. 1, 1988 — Bhutto, aged 35, becomes the first woman prime minister of a Muslim nation after winning parliamentary elections.

—Aug. 6, 1990 — President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismisses Bhutto's government, citing corruption and a failure to control ethnic violence.

—Oct. 19, 1993 — Bhutto takes oath for a second term as prime minister.

—Nov. 5, 1996 — President Farooq Leghari dismisses Bhutto's second administration amid accusations of nepotism and undermining the justice system.

—April 14, 1999 — A court finds Bhutto guilty of corruption while she is out of the country. The conviction was later quashed, but Bhutto remains in exile.

—Oct. 5, 2007 — President Gen. Pervez Musharraf signs a corruption amnesty covering other cases against Bhutto, opening the way for her return and a possible power-sharing agreement.

—Oct. 18, 2007 — Bhutto flies into Karachi, where tens of thousands of supporters give her a rousing welcome amid tight security.