Islamabad, March 17: Pakistan inaugurated a new parliament today dominated by President Pervez Musharraf’s opponents who have vowed to curb his powers and review his US-backed policies against al Qaida and the Taliban.

At stake is the future course and political stability of the nation of 160 million people.

“The dictatorship has to end... it has to be defeated,” former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said after the parliamentary meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) before the start of the National Assembly session.

The outgoing speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain administered the oath of office to 324 members of the National Assembly. Senator Tariq Azim, a Musharraf loyalist, hailed the inauguration of the lower house as a “step toward political stability”.

Musharraf stayed away. But PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Sharif watched benevolently from the gallery.

Their presence shows “the people of Pakistan have rejected” Musharraf’s takeover, said Ahsan Iqbal, a PML-N lawmaker who jumped to his feet shortly after the swearing-in. “This is the first step for democracy,” Zardari, told reporters earlier. “Democracy is the last step for dictatorship.”

The new civilian leaders, who have yet to announce who will front their planned coalition government, will be looking to assert their authority as Musharraf tries to cling to the presidency. The PPP won the most seats in the February 18 elections. It plans to form a coalition with Sharif and a smaller group.