ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s parliament passed a law Monday to extend the term of military leaders from three to five years, despite protests from lawmakers who said it was rushed through without allowing comments from the ‘opposition.

The bill promoted by the administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif aims to provide continuity and avoid some of the political turbulence that usually surrounds the appointment of the army chief every three years. It also extends the tenure of the Navy and Air Force chiefs, even though those positions have less influence and are less controversial.

It was adopted Monday evening by the National Assembly and the Senate as opposition lawmakers from the prisoners’ party former Prime Minister Imran Khan chanted against the measure. Some of them tore up copies of the bill and threw them at President Ayaz Sadiq for preventing the debate.

A similar protest from lawmakers from Khan’s party took place when the bill was quickly passed by the Senate, where Sharif’s party also holds a majority. The bill will now be submitted to the President for approval.

Khan, who was ousted in a vote of no confidence in 2022 and is serving several prison sentences for corruption convictions and other charges, blamed his ouster on the country’s powerful military. Omar Ayub Khan, a top leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party, told reporters after the bill’s passage that the legislation “is not good for the country or the forces armies.

The military has always wielded enormous influence in Pakistan, ruling it for half of its 75-year history.

Sharif in November 2022 chose General Asim Munir for a three-year term as army chief, an appointment Khan opposed. If the bill passes, Munir’s term will extend until November 2027.

The army is waging a fight against militants in various parts of Pakistan and announced on Monday that soldiers had killed six insurgents in separate gun battles in the restive northwest, bordering Afghanistan.

A militant commander was killed in the first night raid in North Waziristan, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army said.

Five more insurgents were killed in the second raid in the neighboring South Waziristan district when a group of Pakistani Taliban tried to sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan, the statement said. Three activists were also injured.

The army also said that Pakistan had consistently requested the Afghan Taliban government to ensure effective border management. Islamabad often accuses Kabul of turning a blind eye to militants operating near the border, something Afghan authorities deny.

Pakistan has seen a surge in violence, mainly blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. It is a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which took power in Afghanistan in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters have since found refuge in Afghanistan.