ISLAMABAD: The government gave mixed signals in the National Assembly on Monday about dealing with Taliban militants as it assured a protesting opposition that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would come to the house in “a few days” to seek consensus on whether he should still pursue a peace dialogue or order a military operation against them.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan described both courses as difficult options at a “defining moment” in Pakistan’s history over which, he said, the prime minister was consulting various quarters like lawmakers of the ruling PML-N, whom he met earlier in the day, the military leadership and intelligence agencies.

“The prime minister will come in a few days to take you into confidence,” the minister told the house without specifying a date, but said consultations with other stakeholders would take two to three more days.

The opposition had made Mr Sharif’s absence from the house for about eight months since the June budget session a big issue, particularly in light of a wave of deadly terrorist attacks against both civilians and soldiers earlier this month, staging a token walkout from the house immediately after the question hour on the first day of the session before its important figures, in their speeches, appealed to the prime minister to provide leadership to the country from the parliamentary forum at what they called a difficult juncture.

The interior minister said Mr Sharif would feel no embarrassment in coming to the National Assembly, where he said he had taken “big decisions with its consultation” during his two previous terms in the 1990s, adding that the prime minister “had intended to come (to the house) even today” after chairing the PML-N parliamentary group’s meeting at his office but changed his mind as “some more consultation” was needed.

Chaudhry Nisar seemed seeking to keep both the advocates of dialogue -- mandated by a Sept 9 all-party conference -- and of military operation happy as he said he personally favoured dialogue with the Taliban “even today” but wondered what could be done if “the other side refuses dialogue”.

He described some recent statements from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan umbrella offering to talk to the government even after claiming responsibility for some most deadly attacks against army and paramilitary soldiers this month as “a sudden change” that he said appeared to have been prompted by shows of national unity to face the challenge. “If they are sincere (in making the offers), then talks can be held,” the minister said, but stressed “we need to unite to decide on how to move forward”.

Leader of Opposition Khursheed Ahmed Shah earlier lamented that the government delayed the present session from the earlier scheduled dates of Jan 7 and Jan 20, despite the new wave of terrorism and, amid chants of “shame, shame” from opposition benches, noted that the prime minister too did not come to the chamber on the session’s opening day though he chaired a meeting of his own party’s lawmakers.

“This sends out a very wrong signal that the prime minister meets only his own party and cannot come to parliament to represent the people,” he said.

Mr Shah said it was because of the prevailing situation that his Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, and some of their allies, ended a boycott of the house they began during the previous session last month, although no government minister came to them to make amends for they had called an objectionable word – ‘tamasha’ (fun) – used by the interior minister in a speech to describe a PTI campaign for the verification of thumb impressions of voters in some constituencies in Punjab in the May elections.

He asked the government to “waste no more time” to end what he saw as an uncertainty about what it would to do fight terrorism and assured the prime minister that no matter whether his own party stood by him or not, “we will stand by you if you go ahead” and “would not let anybody launch an ambush” against the democratic system.

PTI chairman Imran Khan too regretted the prime minister absence, saying the country needed leadership to take it out of the present quagmire. Mr Khan, who took pains to deny allegations that his party was pro-Taliban, said even if the government went for a military operation, it would need a “political process” for its success.

Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who predicted the year 2014 would very bloody for Pakistan, earlier wondered whether the prime minister attracted the penalty of the constitution’s article 64 that empowers the house to declare a member’s seat vacant for remaining absent for 40 consecutive days of its sittings.

But Speaker Ayaz Sadiq told the house that the prime minister had been granted leave for absence, with Mr Rashid confirming later in the house that he had been shown what he called the prime minister’s “application for leave”.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement parliamentary leader Farooq Sattar saw “confusion” in the approach of both the government and the opposition and said any concession to those who did not recognise Pakistan’s constitution would be a sell-out of sacrifices made by those who fell martyrs fighting them.

At the fag end of the proceedings, the house lost quorum forcing the chair to adjourn it until 10.30am on Tuesday.