United News of Bangladesh

The National Consensus Commission is set to send the draft preamble and commitment section of the National Reform Charter to political parties on Monday. “The Commission has prepared a draft of the National Charter excluding only the agreed reform proposals rather focusing on its other parts like preamble and commitments. This draft will be sent to all political parties tomorrow (Monday) for consideration,” said NCC Vice Chair Prof Ali Riaz on Sunday. He said this while presiding over the 19th session of the second-round dialogue between the NCC and the political parties at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital. Ali Riaz said the draft parts of the National Charter will be finalised reflecting the opinions of the political parties. If there is any major or fundamental objection raised by you (political parties) over any word of the draft text, then it will be discussed here in the forum (dialogue) otherwise it will not, he said, adding that the ongoing dialogue on state reforms must conclude by July 31 under any circumstances. “We must finish this process (of reform discussion) by July 31 by any means. There is no alternative,” he added. Three issues — formation of a police commission, fundamental principles of the State and expansion of basic rights of the citizens — are being discussed on Sunday. State reform dialogue must conclude by July 31: Prof Ali Riaz The NCC Vice Chair said there has been a consensus on 10 of the eighteen key agenda items discussed so far, although notes of dissent were also recorded in some cases. “Seven other issues have been extensively discussed but not yet resolved. We are close to making decisions on those,” he said. Mentioning that one of them has been referred to the Commission for a final decision, he said adding that the Commission will announce its decision on that as soon as possible. “Besides, three other reform issues have not been placed for discussion yet.” Talking about Sunday's agenda, Ali Riaz said three issues have been placed for discussion. Among them, the formation of a police commission is quite a new issue. Prof Riaz said the issue of forming a police commission was not among the original 166 reform proposals sent to political parties for opinion. “We are not including this issue to waste time,” he said, adding that both political parties and citizens have consistently questioned why the formation of a police commission is not being discussed during the dialogues. In light of the police’s role during the 2024 July–August uprising and over the past 16 years, this demand for a police commission is legitimate. That’s why, following both formal and informal consultations, the proposal has been brought to the table, he said. Prof Riaz said this police commission will ensure the professionalism and competence of police members. Noting that Sunday's discussion may need to continue till 10pm, he said, “We must wrap up the entire dialogue process by July 31. Only then may we allocate a separate day for signing the national charter.” According to the NCC proposal, an independent nine-member commission titled Bangladesh Police Commission will be formed under the chairmanship of a retired justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in a bid to ensure the performance of police members to discharge the lawful duties with competence. This commission will be mandated to address complaints raised by both police personnel and citizens. A retired police official who served at least as additional IGP will be its member secretary. The seven other members will be one representative each of the Leader of the House, the Leader of Opposition, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, a listed lawyer of the High Court, a human rights activist and a retired police official who served at least as additional IGP. Of them, only the chairman and the member secretary will be permanent members, while the rest seven members will not receive any salary. Some 30 political parties, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP), are participating in the second-round dialogue. The NCC aims to finalise a unified position on approximately 20 core reform proposals by July 31 through consensus-building with political parties. The second round of talks began on June 2, inaugurated by Chief Adviser and Commission Chairman Prof Muhammad Yunus. The Commission, formed on February 15, 2025 under Prof Yunus’ leadership, was entrusted with building national consensus on key state reforms. It previously held first-round talks with political parties and alliances between March 20 and May 19.