Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas has said that, “The army has a demonstrated policy of supporting the political process within the confines of the constitution of Pakistan.” This reaffirmation of support for democracy comes following the release of US diplomatic cables by Wikileaks which suggest that COAS Gen. Ashfaq Kayani considered removing Zardari in 2009. If it is true that this was considered, even so such a coup never took place.
It should be noted also that if the Army had any designs on replacing Zardari, surely the time would have come when the president was out of the country and the Army was active with flood relief. This was a low point in the public perception of the president and with him already out of the country it would have been easiest for the Army to install a replacement.
The fact that Army did not take advantage of this opportunity during the flood crisis demonstrates that there is no desire on the part of the military brass to insert themselves into civilian affairs.
