Against the backdrop of a row between Pakistan's civilian government and the military over a memo alleging an army plot to seize power, President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday asked people not to allow any change through “force and intimidation.” The ballot should be respected as the instrument of change, he said.
Mr. Zardari has been facing pressure from the military since Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz made public the memo that sought U.S. help to stave off a coup in May.
In a message to mark the 136th birth anniversary of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Mr. Zardari said: “The Quaid [Jinnah] believed that any change must be brought about by ballot and rejected change by bullet.” “Let us pledge that we will not allow any change through force and intimidation and respect the power of ballot as the instrument of change.”
