Dozens of opposition lawmakers staged a demonstration Tuesday against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, saying an "unelected, unconstitutional" man has no right to speak at the U.N.
Musharraf is in New York and is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly session Wednesday.
The legislators staged a sit-in near the gate of the Pakistani parliament building.
"Musharraf is not a constitutional president. He is a usurper," said Raja Pervez Ashraf, an opposition member of the National Assembly, or lower house of the parliament, to the chants of "No Musharraf no," "Go Musharraf go (out)" by fellow lawmakers.
"He (Musharraf) has trampled the constitution of Pakistan. The constitution proposes the death penally for such a man," Ashraf said.
The protesters were in front of a huge banner that read "An unelected and unconstitutional man has no right to address the United Nations." Nearly 100 policemen wielding sticks looked on as the legislators demonstrated while the assembly held its session.
Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999. He held elections last October to choose a parliament, which later chose a prime minister.
Musharraf, who heads the powerful military, also has decreed changes to the constitution that empower him with the authority to dismiss the parliament and the prime minister.
Opposition political groups, led by a coalition of hardline Islamic groups, have demanded Musharraf step down as military chief and bring his constitutional amendments to parliament for a vote.
Musharraf has spurned those demands.
The opposition lawmakers have stymied proceedings in the parliament by staging walkouts and making noise when key issues such as the budget are being discussed, to press their demands.
-Edited by Mary de Wet