Joined Consensus Commission dialogue today because CA called our party chief: Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Taher

The Jamaat-e-Islami joined today's National Consensus Commission meeting after receiving a phone call from Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus to Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, said the party's Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher.

Jamaat skipped the first day of the second phase of the consensus commission's dialogue yesterday.

"Yesterday afternoon, the chief adviser called our ameer and assured him that the government would act neutrally," Taher said while speaking to reporters.

He also said Jamaat expressed support for the formation of the National Constitutional Council (NCC), but no conclusive consensus has been reached on any issue at the National Consensus Commission's meeting today.

"We believe there should be an institution to ensure constitutional balance," he said after joining the second day of the commission's second phase of discussions at the Foreign Service Academy.

"However, we objected to the inclusion of the president and the chief justice in the NCC structure, as the body must have the authority to resolve disputes in the event of a deadlock," he added.

He noted that Jamaat had earlier issued a statement objecting to certain aspects of the chief adviser's recent visit to London.

"The chief adviser went to London to receive an award and discuss repatriating laundered money. While there, he met with the acting chairman of a political party," he said.

"Instead of holding talks with all parties, he issued a joint statement with just one party. That was unprecedented and placed other parties in an awkward position. In doing so, the chief adviser compromised his neutrality," said Taher.

He added that although the chief adviser had mentioned a potential election date in his address to the nation, he could have revised it after speaking with all political parties.

Regarding the election timeline, Taher stated, "We don't have major objections to the proposed date. We're also not opposed to a February timeline, if certain conditions are met."

He further said, "We feel the commission is turning into a symbolic exercise that may ultimately prove fruitless – like much ado about nothing. So, as a form of symbolic protest, we didn't attend yesterday."

On ensuring a level playing field ahead of the polls, Taher said, "The home affairs adviser said a level playing field already exists. But it seems he doesn't even understand what that means."

"When the government can't even unlock a simple office building, how can we expect a level playing field across 300 constituencies?" he questioned.