No significant progress yet on reform consensus: Ali Riaz

"We have been discussing (reform issues) for the past seven days. Although there has been progress in various areas, the fact is that we are a bit behind in terms of desired progress,” he said while presiding over the seventh day of the second-round talks of the National Consensus Commission at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.

He said, “We need to attain this (desired) progress and no one of us wants to go back to where we were before. This is not a matter of tomorrow, the next day. This is a matter of the long term."

Prof Riaz stressed the need to break free from fascist rule, saying that it was essential to structurally reform the system that had given rise to such governance.

He clarified the role of the Commission, saying, “We are not your rivals. The Commission is part of you. We are merely carrying out a responsibility. The Commission showed flexibility due to your firm stance (on some reform issues) because you represent the country and its people will ultimately be governed by you.”

Noting that the commission wants to be sincere about its commitment to present a national charter in July, he said, “We had a dream that on the death anniversary of Abu Sayeed, all parties would sign the Charter. Whether that will be possible now depends on you. We are a little bit concerned about it. But we have to reach a conclusion to this process within July.”

Leaders from around 30 political parties, including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party-NCP participated in the day’s dialogue to present their respective party positions on the proposed reforms.

On June 2, Chief Adviser and Commission Chairman Prof Muhammad Yunus opened the second round of dialogues.

Formed on February 15, 2025, under the leadership of Chief Adviser Prof Yunus, the Commission was tasked with forging a unified national stance on crucial state reforms.

The Commission launched its first round of dialogues on March 20 to build national consensus on the reform initiatives undertaken by the interim government. It held talks with 33 political parties and alliances, including BNP, Jamaat and NCP, before concluding the first round on May 19.

Following the dialogue, the National Consensus Commission will prepare and announce the July Charter (or Reform Charter) next month, reports UNB.