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| Pervez Musharraf
[AFP] |
Two weeks after the lower house passed the
bill, the government-dominated Senate on Monday endorsed the legislation amid
opposition uproar.
The debate leading up to the vote was punctuated by cries
from opposition senators of "Shame, shame" and "Go Musharraf, go, we don't
accept the rule of the gun".
The bill was eventually passed on a voice vote after
opposition senators walked out of the chamber.
Musharraf, who seized power five years ago, must now sign
the bill into law. It will formally see him break a public promise to quit his
military post by the end of this year.
"I have been saying that a president in uniform is
undemocratic but it was important due to the peculiar circumstances in
Pakistan," Musharraf said in a national address in December last year, as he
vowed to relinquish the army post.
His promise was part of a deal with the opposition Islamic
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) bloc in return for its parliamentary support for
constitutional amendments that validated his presidency and gave him sweeping
powers.
One of these powers was the authority to dismiss parliament.
Musharraf has since said he needs to keep the army post so
he can continue the nation's efforts to fight terrorism and seek a peaceful
settlement with India of the long-running Kashmir dispute.
Musharraf used his position as army chief to overthrow
democratically elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and grab power in a bloodless
coup in October 1999. He appointed himself president in June 2001.
During the Senate debate, the opposition said Musharraf's
dual roles were unconstitutional because laws bar any government servant,
including the army chief, from becoming head of state.
"The exemption given to the president would pave the way for
the military to maintain its control on national politics and undermines
civilian rule," opposition Pakistan Peoples Party senator Raza Rabbani told AFP.
"It is the darkest day in Pakistani parliamentary history
when a parliament on its own accord has squandered and surrendered civil
authority in the face of the uniform.
"It is a bill which violates the basic structure of the
constitution."
Two major opposition alliances, the MMA and the secular
Alliance for Restoration for Democracy, have vowed to launch a public campaign
this month to pressure Musharraf to stand down as army chief.
The new law does not put a time limit on how long Musharraf
can hold both posts although his term as president is meant to end in
2007.
