ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's lower house of parliament passed a bill Thursday 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 calls for the president to be allowed to hold two offices to able to continue the fight against terrorism and safeguard Pakistan's territorial integrity.
It was passed in the National Assembly amid noisy protests from opposition deputies who had strongly objected and insist Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup five years ago, should either resign as president or as army chief.
After the approval of the 342-member National Assembly, the bill will be passed to the Senate, or upper house of parliament, where the government also has a majority, before being sent to Musharraf to be signed into law.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-pakistan-musharraf.html