Islamabad: Amidst stormy Opposition protests, Pakistan's National Assembly today (Oct 14, 2004) passed a Bill allowing General Pervez Musharraf to hold the dual posts of the President and the Army Chief despite his pledge to shed the uniform by the end of this year.

The 342-member National Assembly approved the Bill titled 'The President to Hold Office Bill, 2004' with a simple majority after a day of debate as Opposition members shouted 'Go Musharraf Go' and 'Go lotas (sycophants) Go'.

The Opposition parties, consisting of the 14-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), and Islamic alliance Muttahida Majlis-e Amal (MMA) moved to the well of the House and protested vehemently to Speaker Amir Hussain as he ordered a quick voting on the Bill at the instance of the members of the treasury benches.

Some Opposition members even attempted to grab the microphone of the Speaker.

The Opposition protest began as Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afghan Niazi urged the Speaker to speed up the process of debate, which began on a stormy note last night.