The historic 18th amendment, which rolls back four decades of infringements by military rulers on Pakistan's 1973 constitution, is expected to sail through the upper house of parliament as early as next week and then pass into law. The package reverses sweeping powers amassed by former military dictators Pervez Musharraf and Zia ul Haq and could ease political instability in the nuclear-armed country on the front line of the U.S.-led war on al-Qaeda. All 292 lawmakers present at Thursday's session in the 342-member national assembly voted to approve the bill. No one voted against.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani declared that parliamentary democracy was now being restored as MPs slammed fists on desks in celebration after shouting ""hang Musharraf, hang"" when his 1999 coup was declared illegal.
""The impossible has been made possible by the house today,"" Gilani told lawmakers.
""We have been saying we will go to the Westminster-style parliamentary system ... Today we removed the anomalies. We are giving you a parliamentary form of government with balance of power between president and prime minister.""
Under the constitutional reforms, President Asif Zardari will no longer have the power to dismiss the prime minister, dissolve parliament – as enacted multiple times in the past – or appoint the head of Pakistan's powerful armed forces.
The bill also abolishes a clause which bars the election of a prime minister for more than two terms. This would allow popular opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who was toppled by Musharraf in 1999, to become premier again.
The package, which grants greater autonomy to smaller provinces also renames North West Frontier Province, dating back to British rule, Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa, to honor the wishes of its Pashtun-majority population.
The amendment has been hailed as a rare success for cross-party co-operation in Pakistan and is supported by Zardari, who has urged lawmakers to approve the amendments without delay, hailing the package as a ""crucial reform bill"".
Source: Telegraph.co.uk