As Nawaz prepares to fly abroad for treatment...

LAHORE: Nawaz Sharif will fly abroad on coming Tuesday, a day which not only bears immense importance and significance in Pakistan’s 72-year-old history, but the ailing three-time former Pakistani premier also has some bitter and sweat memories associated with this second day of the week, special research conducted by the “Jang Group and Geo Television Network” shows.

Nawaz Sharif had assumed charge as the Punjab’s chief minister on Tuesday, April 9, 1985, hence making his formal debut in the mainstream politics of the country.

Nawaz had taken oath as prime minister, his first stint in power, on November 5, 1990, which was a Tuesday too.

However, on October 12, 1999, which was yet another eventful Tuesday, Nawaz Sharif was ousted in a bloodless coup by the then army chief, Gen Musharraf.

Interestingly, Musharraf was appointed Pakistan’s army chief by Nawaz Sharif himself on October 6, 1998, which was a Tuesday too!

Tuesdays have a lot of historic significance attached to them when it comes to Pakistan’s history. Hence, here follows a list of some events that had taken place on Tuesdays in Pakistan:

On October 7, 1958, when President Iskander Mirza had declared the first-ever Martial Law in Pakistan, it was a Tuesday.

He had abrogated the Constitution of 1956, describing it as “unworkable” and full of “dangerous compromises”. He dismissed the government of Sir Feroz Khan Noon, dissolved the National Assembly of Pakistan and the provincial legislatures at will.

The second martial law on Pakistan was imposed on March 25, 1969, which was yet another Tuesday.

This time, the-then Pakistani president Ayub Khan had abrogated the Constitution and handed over powers to the Army Commander-in-Chief, Gen Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan.

Gen Ziaul Haq had deposed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a military coup and declared the third martial law on July 5, 1977. And this was a Tuesday too. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, also known as the 1973 Constitution, was approved by the Parliament on April 10 of the same year, which was a Tuesday.

The Pakistani Constitution, drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country’s opposition parties, was ratified on August 14, 1973, which was a Tuesday again. On November 5, 1996, also a Tuesday incidentally, the-then premier Benazir Bhutto’s second government was dismissed by her hand-picked President Farooq Leghari.

Yet another Pakistani premier, Yousaf Raza Gillani, was sent packing by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on June 19, 2012, which happened to be a Tuesday too.

Gillani was disqualified for his earlier conviction on April 26, 2012.

Amazingly, Yousaf Raza Gillani had taken oath as prime minister on March 25, 2008, which was a Tuesday too.

It was also on December 16, 2014 (Tuesday) that six gunmen affiliated with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan had conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, killing 149 people, including 132 schoolchildren, ranging between eight and eighteen years of age making it the world’s fourth deadliest school massacre.

Some important world events taking place on Tuesdays: The history-changing September 11, 2011 attacks on the United States had taken place on a Tuesday morning. It was a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks reportedly orchestrated by Osama bin Laden’s militant outfit, Al-Qaeda. Some 2,996 people (2,977 victims + 19 hijackers) had lost lives.

The World War-I, which changed the world map and the balance of power, had started on July 29, 1914, which too was a Tuesday.

The globally famous October 29, 1929 stock market crash at Wall Street in New York had also occurred on a Tuesday, called a “Black Tuesday” since. Investors had traded a record 16.4 million shares on this day, and had lost $14 billion on the New York Stock Exchange, which is worth $206 billion in 2019 dollars.

By the way, Tuesday is the usual day for American elections. Federal elections take place on the Tuesday falling after the first Monday in November every four years.

This date for ballot exercises was established by a law of 1845 for US presidential elections and was extended to elections for the House of Representatives in 1875 and for the Senate in 1914. Tuesday was the earliest day of the week which was practical for polling in the early 19th century. It was kept in mind that citizens might have to travel for a whole day to cast their vote, and would not wish to leave on Sunday which was a day of worship for the great majority of them.

In Australia, the board of the country’s Reserve Bank meets on the first Tuesday of every month except January.