The proposed constitutional amendments transfer a number of the president's powers, including the authority to dissolve the national assembly and appoint military chiefs and the chief election commissioner.

ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday submitted to parliament a package of landmark constitutional reforms, which strip President Asif Ali Zardari of key powers in a move to bolster parliamentary democracy.

The 18th amendment, which reverses constitutional changes adopted by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, is easily expected to secure the two-thirds majority from parliament required to pass into law.

The move has been hailed as an enormous triumph for Zardari, a key US ally in the war on al-Qaeda but an unpopular president in Pakistan, where the government is under pressure to re-open graft cases against him.

Under the constitutional reforms, the president would no longer have the power to dismiss the prime minister, dissolve parliament — as enacted multiple times in the past — or appoint the head of the country’s armed forces.

The 18th amendment would put no bar on prime ministers standing for only two terms in office — allowing opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who was toppled by Musharraf in 1999, to again become premier.

“I congratulate the entire nation on this 18th amendment,” Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the lower house of parliament.

“It is historic. Some people think that the prime minister will be stronger now. But in fact these constitutional amendments will strengthen institutions.”

“This is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan,” Gilani added, before Raza Rabbani, head of the parliamentary committee on constitutional reform, unveiled the package.

“This is a bill which will ensure parliamentary supremacy,” Rabbani told the lower house of parliament.

The reforms also devolve greater autonomy to the provinces and will rename North West Frontier Province, which dates back to British colonial rule, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in a nod to its Pashtun-majority population.

The package will now be debated by lawmakers and Zardari is scheduled to address a joint session of parliament on Monday.