Commission, political forces should build national consensus unitedly: Ali Riaz
“During any political dialogue, those who act as representatives have to go back to the policymakers because many issues arise at the discussion table which needs reconsideration. We are continuing this process,” Riaz said
The National Consensus Commission cannot build consensus alone, rather it is the duty of the political parties, civil society and other political forces to do this job unitedly, Vice Chairman of the commission Ali Riaz said today (18 May).
During a dialogue with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami at 11am this morning, Riaz said, "We have talked on many issues with the political parties. We have reached consensus on many issues, and we have disagreed on some others. Jamaat has also proposed to review some issues at the policymaking level, which has created an opportunity for discussion."
"During any political dialogue, those who act as representatives have to go back to the policymakers because many issues arise at the discussion table which needs reconsideration. We are continuing this process," Riaz said.
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Riaz added, "We want to move towards a national charter. If we can end the primary level dialogue within next one or two days, we will be able to move to the second level of talks. We believe that the door to a consensus in phases is open."
Riaz further said, "We had to sacrifice a lot to reach this discussion table. We have reached to this spot through bloodshed and loss of lives. We have to honour and remain responsible to this sacrifice, and everyone should remember that."
The dialogue was presided over by Special Assistant to Chief Adviser Monir Haider, where commission members Iftekharuzzaman and Badiul Alam Majumdar were present.
The Jamaat delegation was led by its Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Md Taher. Some other high-ups of the party were present during the dialogue.
Earlier on 26 April, Jamaat-e-Islami participated in the first day of talks with the Consensus Commission.
The commission began its dialogue series with political parties on 20 March to build a national consensus on state reforms initiated by the interim government.
So far, it has held talks with more than 30 political parties, including BNP and the National Citizen Party (NCP).
Formed on 15 February 2025 under the leadership of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, the Commission was tasked with shaping a unified national stance on key reforms.
The commission in its initial phase compiled recommendations from five dedicated commissions focused on constitutional, public administration, electoral, judicial, and anti-corruption reforms and shared those with 39 political parties for feedback.
At least 34 political parties, including BNP, Jamaat and NCP, responded with their reform proposals.
