Islamabad: Pakistan's Punjab provincial Assembly has adopted a resolution urging President Pervez Musharraf not to honour his promise to quit the powerful post of the Army Chief by the end of this year amidst strong protest from Opposition parties.

The Assembly, dominated by the ruling pro-military PML-Q (Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid), adopted the resolution last night (Sep 13, 2004) asking Musharraf to keep both the Presidency and the post of the Chief of Army with the Opposition charging that it was an attempt by the pro-military politicians in the country to remain in power with the support of Army Generals.

The resolution urged Musharraf to renounce his agreement with the Islamic alliance Muttahida Majlis-e Amal (MMA), which had supported his controversial constitutional amendments and got them ratified in Parliament, to step down as the Army Chief by the end of this year.

Similar resolutions are expected to be adopted by the Sindh Assembly and the country's Parliament, where the ruling alliance has a majority.

The resolutions adopted by the prominent legislatures in the country are expected to provide the political legitimacy to Musharraf ahead of his tour to the US later this week to address the UN General Assembly session in New York.

On its sidelines, Musharraf would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, US President George W Bush and several world leaders during which he is expected to make it clear that he would continue to retain the uniform to remain a powerful President.