Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Pakistani passes constitutional amendment for democracy
The Pakistani National Assembly (NA) Monday adopted a bill amid boycott by the major opposition, which will pave the way for President Pervez Musharraf to remove his military uniform by the end of next year.
The Pakistani National Assembly (NA) Monday adopted a bill amid boycott by the major opposition, which will pave the way for President Pervez Musharraf to remove his military uniform by the end of next year.
The 342-member NA adopted the Seventeenth Amendment with 248 votes in favor and no vote against it.
Under the new law , Musharraf who secured a five-year term as president in 2002 in a referendum, will seek a confidence vote from the national parliament and provincial assemblies early next year to remain as civilian president and to step down as military head by December 2004.
Musharraf will also give up some of the powers he assumed after his bloodless coup in 1999.
The adoption of the bill is the victory of Pakistan and its democracy, Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali told the NA after the bill was adopted.