Given all the tensions of recent weeks, it is perhaps no surprise that Pakistan's rumour mill is filled with talk of yet another military coup. This time, however, the multiple crises may be too much for even the army to chew.

What began in the same way as so many rumours in Pakistan do – with numerous curt, anonymous emails, text messages and iftar dinner conversations – snowballed into something of a storm. It may have been just a bit of extra masala for the evening news, but it appeared that Pakistan was heading for yet another military takeover.

With floods having uprooted around a tenth of the population and devastated Pakistan's vital agricultural sector, which accounts for around 70% of the country's exports, it seemed a logical conclusion. So much so that Altaf Hussain, the none-too-shy leader of the Urdu community's Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) political party, even went so far as to invite the army to declare martial law.

The army didn't take the bait, although London-based Hussain may have caused a state of emergency of his own with political opponents, eager to capitalise on the gaffe, calling for him to be charged with treason. Consider then the dilemma for the ruling Pakistan Peoples party, the dominant party in a federal coalition government that includes the MQM.

There is no doubt that civilian leaders are struggling with events in the country. Along with the floods there has been an upsurge in bombings targeting Pakistan's Shia Muslim minority in Lahore, Karachi and Quetta. According to the ruling Awami National party in Khyber Pakhtunkwha province, every one of its sitting MPs has received death threats, while a string of fresh bombings has claimed 30 lives in the tribal areas. The attacks appear to have targeted influential local tribal leaders considered rivals of the Pakistan Taliban insurgency.

In the neighbouring, restive province of Balochistan, itself engulfed by another insurgency, the government of President Zardari has faced further humiliation. A day after announcing a "Swat-style" military operation in the province outside the Balochistan chief minister's office on Wednesday, federal interior minister Rehman Malik was forced to back down and promised instead a limited military offensive that would respect "the legitimate demands" of the ethnic Baloch community. Part of the proposal included the devolution of authority for the paramilitary Frontier Corp, widely despised by ethnic Baloch, to the provincial government. But even that was not enough for the Balochistan government, which moved quickly to quash any talk of military operations.

And with good reason. On Thursday, a bombing at the provincial finance minister's residence claimed three lives, although the minister himself was unharmed. That followed a brazen bombing of a Shia demonstration in Quetta on Monday that left up to 70 dead.

With such insecurity it seems logical for the army to step in. But with memories of the last military dictator, former President Pervez Musharraf, still fresh in the mind, public sentiment might not look too kindly on a coup.

That is especially so now, given the extreme deprivations faced by those made homeless by the floods. On Wednesday, a group of people camped in Karachi turned into an angry mob decrying the lack of food, water and other humanitarian necessities. Their cries come at a time when it is becoming increasingly apparent that sections of the political and feudal class, who often come from the same families, have been busy helping themselves while not-so-influential citizens continue to wait for assistance.

The most damning allegation is that some rich landowners even diverted the water in parts of interior Sindh and Punjab, exacerbating the floods in other regions, especially Balochistan. Be that as it may, the floods have been a monumental obstacle that has crudely and starkly divided Pakistan's society between the few haves and many have-nots.

"In tough times, the Pakistan army is with you," is emblazoned on supplies delivered by the army to flood victims. As dedicated humanitarian workers from Pakistan's military, civil society and international NGOs sift through this human tragedy, the army top brass appears happy to sit back and accrue enormous goodwill for its visible and important role in the humanitarian effort.

Now is perhaps the worst time for any politician to be in government. If the army were to mount a takeover at this juncture it would quickly see the public's goodwill evaporate. That makes a return to military rule unlikely. But with future events in this country always hard to predict, rumours of a coup are certain to continue.