If we fail anywhere, it will be a collective failure: Ali Riaz

    Bangla Press Desk:National Consensus Commission Vice Chair Professor Ali Riaz on Tuesday urged all political parties to demonstrate flexibility on the remaining reform issues and reminded them that any failure to finalise the National Charter by July would be a collective failure. “We must work together to reach a consensus on a National Charter. As far as possible, we need to do it collectively. For that, we hope each party continues to adjust its position to some extent. But please consider the time constraint so that we can finalise the charter within this month,” he said. Prof Riaz made the remarks while presiding over the 14th day of the second-round reform dialogue with political parties at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital. He noted that while consensus had already been achieved on several constitutional issues, a few others were agreed in principle at earlier stages, and a number of critical points remain unresolved. “We will continue our discussions on the remaining issues,” said Prof Riaz, adding that responsibility for any failure in consensus-building would not rest solely with the Commission. “If we fail anywhere, it will be a collective failure. If the Commission fails, it must be all our collective failure. We must consider it,” he stressed. He reminded the participants that the mandate of the Consensus Commission was shared with the political parties. “We have only become a partner in your efforts,” he added. The Commission has called for the resolution of all outstanding issues in the next few days to meet its deadline. Tuesday’s discussions included major constitutional reform proposals, such as the formation of an Upper House in a future bicameral parliament and the question of women’s reserved seats. A total of 30 political parties, including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the Nationalist Consensus Party (NCP), joined the dialogue to present their views on the pending reforms. The Commission aims to finalise a unified political stance on nearly 20 key reform proposals by July 31, and unveil the National Charter — a roadmap for state restructuring — based on political consensus. The second round of dialogues was launched on 2 June by Chief Adviser and Commission Chairman Professor Muhammad Yunus. This article was originally published on The Daily sun. [Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.] BP/SP