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| Saturday, 16 October 2004 |
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Parliament passes Musharraf dual-role bill ISLAMABAD, Friday (Reuters) Pakistan's lower house of parliament passed a bill to allow President Pervez Musharraf to stay on as army chief despite his pledge to give up the job by the end of the year. The bill called for the president to be allowed to hold two offices to enable the incumbent to continue the fight against terrorism and safeguard Pakistan's territorial integrity. Musharraf has said shedding his uniform could undermine his authority in pressing home the war against terror in Pakistan and in pushing forward a nascent peace process with rival India. The bill was passed by a voice vote in the National Assembly amid noisy protests from angry opposition deputies who insist that Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup five years ago, should either resign as president or as army chief. "The bill is clearly unconstitutional," said Aitzaz Ahsan, a deputy from the Pakistan People's Party of Benazir Bhutto, one of two former prime ministers living in exile due to threats of arrest by Musharraf if they return to Pakistan. "It cannot become law because chief of the army staff cannot become the president of Pakistan while the constitution is in force," Ahsan told reporters. He said the opposition had moved a no-confidence motion against the speaker but he had ignored it and proceeded with a voice vote, which was against parliamentary tradition. The opposition argues that the constitution forbids the president to retain two offices beyond Dec. 31. The government says no such restriction exists. The government says the constitution, as amended earlier this year, simply states that the president cannot "benefit" from two offices, meaning that he could hold two as long as he does not draw two government salaries. The United States, which has encouraged Musharraf to keep his pledge, reacted mildly to the possibility he could remain in uniform beyond the end of the year and said it was a matter for Pakistanis to decide. "We've said before we thought it would be a good step," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters. But he added, "progress toward democracy in Pakistan doesn't rest solely on this step". The passage of the bill in the 342-member lower house was a foregone conclusion given the majority held by pro-military parties. The bill will now be passed to the Senate, or upper house, on Oct. 27, where the government also has a majority, before being sent to Musharraf to be signed into law. |
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