Besieged Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been assured by the military there will be no coup, but in return he must "share space with the army," according to a government source who was privy to recent talks between the two sides.
Last week, as tens of thousands of protesters advanced on the capital to demand his resignation, Sharif dispatched two emissaries to consult with the army chief.
He wanted to know if the military was quietly engineering the twin protest movements by cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan and activist cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, or if, perhaps, it was preparing to stage a coup.