
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 17 (UPI) -- Pakistan's newly elected parliament convened Monday with distinctions already drawn between new lawmakers and embattled President Pervez Musharaff.
The outgoing speaker did not shake hands with the more than 300 new members or greet them as they walked to sign the roll, CNN reported. Opposition lawmakers said they would take their oaths under the constitution "as it was on Nov. 2, 2007," the day before Musharraf declared a state of emergency, suspending constitutional rule.
He also amended the constitution to provide himself and the military blanket immunity for actions taken during the emergency rule.
Two parties won the majority of National Assembly seats in February's election. The Pakistan People's Party was the party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and is led by her husband, Asif Ali Zardari. The Pakistan Muslim League-N is headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The coalition agreed to work with Musharraf, but said it would reinstate ousted Supreme Court justices -- the heart of the political crisis -- within 30 days of parliament's first session. Musharraf cleared almost all of Supreme Court in November just before jurists were to rule on the legitimacy of his third term in office.
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