Zardari Warns of Anti-Democratic Conspiracy

Tensions are rising between Pakistan's civilian leaders and its generals over a memo that accused the army of plotting a coup after the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May.


"Who isn't fed up with Zardari? It's not just the opposition and the man on the street but people within the government too," said one military source who asked not to be named.


"But there has to be a proper way. No action is being planned by the army. Even if we tried, it would be very unpopular and not just with the government and the opposition but most Pakistanis too."


The Pakistani military spokesman declined comment.


General Ashfaq Kayani has pledged to keep the military out of Pakistani politics since taking over as army chief in 2007.


Any coup -- Pakistan has had three since independence in 1947 -- could further tarnish the military's public image which has already taken a battering after the bin Laden operation, widely seen in Pakistan as a violation of sovereignty.


But the army remains the arbiter of power and analysts say it has plenty of ways to pressure Zardari to step down, especially if a link is established between him and the memo, which sought the Pentagon's help in averting a feared coup.


Mr. Zardari's civilian government is facing mounting criticism over a secret memo, sent months ago, appealing for U.S. help to prevent a feared military coup.
Both the government and army officials have made recent efforts to diffuse the political tension.
Pakistan's Army General Ashfaq Kayani last week denied rumors that he was plotting an overthrow of President Zardari's increasingly unpopular government.
On Monday, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani denied media reports that he was planning to fire General Kayani and the head of the country's powerful spy agency, the ISI.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Friday also moved to allay fears about a possible coup, saying a military takeover is out of the question.
The existence of the memo came to light in October, when Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz wrote a column in The Financial Times accusing Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani of writing a letter to garner U.S. assistance to prevent a military coup.
The letter was reportedly sent in May to Admiral Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military official at the time. The ambassador was forced to resign.
Prime Minister Gilani and President Zardari have faced increasing pressure to resign over the memo incident. Pakistan's Supreme Court is currently deliberating whether to order an investigation of the memo.