Multiple proposals in pipeline if July Charter not agreed: Prof Riaz

NCC Vice-Chair Prof Ali Riaz said on Sunday that the Commission will submit several proposals to the government on implementing the July National Charter 2025 if political parties fail to reach a consensus.

“If the political parties cannot come to an agreement on how to implement the July Charter, the Commission will make more than one proposal before the interim government,” he said while chairing the dialogue between the NCC and political parties in the capital.

The discussion, held at 11:45am at the Foreign Service Academy, aimed to determine the process for implementing the July National Charter 2025, particularly the Constitution-related reform recommendations.

Prof Ali Riaz said the decision to implement the July National Charter ultimately rests with the interim government and the political parties. “If a consensus or a sort of agreement can be reached among you, the implementation will be easier and faster,” he said.

Mentioning that the Chief Adviser of the interim government and also the head of the Commission held a meeting with the NCC members on Sunday morning, Prof Riaz said the Chief Adviser asked them to move forward swiftly and make the Charter acceptable to all by transforming it into a political document endorsed by every party.

He said the Commission held the discussion with political parties for a specific reason — to discuss more concrete, well-defined and concise proposals regarding the implementation of the July Charter, if the political parties place.

“If the political parties can present clear and concise proposals on the implementation process, we will consolidate and incorporate them in our submission to the interim government,” he said.

“Our goal is to complete this process by October 15 next as the national election is approaching,” said the NCC Vice Chair, adding that they do not want to disrupt the electoral process or the electoral preparation of the political parties.

“The Commission’s tenure ends on October 15, so we must complete the task before that,” Prof Riaz said, adding, “We know that you (political parties) have already held talks among yourselves. Based on that, if you can give a collective proposal beyond partisan considerations, we will discuss it further…..This is our sincere request to you.”

Some 30 political parties and alliances, including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and NCP, joined Sunday’s dialogue.

Earlier, the NCC sat with political parties on September 17 to explore ways to implement the July Charter.

In the last discussion, the Commission presented before the political parties the final advice of its legal experts on the implementation of the July National Charter 2025, but the parties failed to reach a consensus over the enactment of a constitution order which may be endorsed by a referendum to be held simultaneously with the upcoming national election.

The panel of legal experts advised that the interim government may enact a Constitution Order (CO) with immediate effect, incorporating the core reforms envisaged by the July Charter 2025.

The CO may thereafter be put to a referendum to be held on the same date as the next general election. The CO may include the provision for referendum.

If the CO receives the assent of the people through a referendum, it will be validated with effect from the date of its enactment, said the legal expert panel.

Then, no dialogue was held with the political parties as NCC Vice Chair Prof Ali Riaz went to the USA on September 20 and returned on Tuesday last.

The NCC has so far held three rounds of dialogue with political parties — from March 20 to May 19, from June 2 to July 30, and now the third round on the implementation of the charter since September 14 last. 

The Consensus Commission, formed on February 15 last under the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government Prof Muhammad Yunus, to prepare a reform charter by July 15, 2025.

Later, its tenure was extended on several occasions. Now the NCC will need to find a mechanism over the implementation of the July Charter within the next 10 days as its extended tenure will expire on October 15.