Islamabad, Pakistan ? President Gen. Pervez Musharraf recently faced two assassination attempts and launched a historic peace process with nuclear-armed rival India, but opposition lawmakers offered no praise Saturday during his first-ever speech to Parliament, heckling him as a military dictator and demanding he resign.

The noisy disruption highlighted deep-seated resentment at the military’s persistent involvement in politics and blunted Musharraf’s efforts to portray himself as a legitimate ruler since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999.

Opposition members chanted “go Musharraf, go Musharraf” and “friends of dictators are traitors” throughout his 40-minute, nationally televised speech. Musharraf supporters countered by thumping tables in applause.

Security was extremely tight, with armored personnel carriers patrolling, after the two attempts on the president’s life last month. The two bombings were blamed on Islamic militants who despise the president for allying Pakistan to the U.S. war on terror.

In his speech, Musharraf spoke of the needs to crush terrorism, to keep Pakistan’s nuclear weapons secure, to prevent proliferation of atomic arms, and to resolve the Kashmir territory question with India.