ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s vague reply to a question about PTI chief Imran Khan’s claim regarding dim prospects of the armed forces’ success in an operation against militants has compounded the confusion surrounding the debate over use of force in Waziristan.

Mr Khan had said in a TV interview last week that he was told by the prime minister there were “40 per cent chances of success” of a military operation against terrorists.

Mr Sharif, in remarks during a chat with a television anchor aboard his aircraft on his way back home from Turkey, said various figures had come under discussion on different occasions and the situation kept changing.

Without elaborating, the prime minister said “not only 40 per cent, but there were some other figures as well”.

His party’s chairman, Raja Zafarul Haq, said as late as Friday in the Senate that the PTI chief’s remarks were “baseless”.

In reply to another question, the prime minister termed the recent terrorist attacks and claim of responsibility by the Taliban a setback for the peace process.

Mr Sharif said the ‘establishment’ and the government were on the same page on the matter and all wanted peace in the country.

A heated debate has been going on in media as well as in the Senate since Mr Khan said that during a meeting the prime minister had quoted former army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as saying that there were “40pc chances of success” of a military operation in the tribal areas.

The opposition senators had been seeking an explanation from the government for three days. The issue was raised by Senator Raza Rabbani on Feb 12 who termed Mr Khan’s outburst as tantamount to demoralising the army and the nation and sought to know if a contact had been established with the prime minister, who was on a visit to Turkey, to verify Mr Khan’s statement.

On Friday, Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq informed the Senate that on the basis of information gathered by him on his own he had reached the conclusion that Mr Khan had misunderstood the remarks made during a meeting he had attended along with the prime minister, the then army chief and ISI chief before an ‘all-party conference’ on Sept 9 last year.

He said a specific question had been asked during the meeting held at the request of the PTI leader about the possible outcome of a military offensive against militants and the response was that terrorism was expected to immediately decline by 40pc if an operation was launched, but talks must be given a chance to restore peace.

“Imran Khan appears to have misunderstood the words and his claim about the army’s capacity was baseless,” Mr Haq said.

Mr Haq and Information Minister Pervez Rashid could not be contacted for their comments on the prime minister’s interview.