Ali Riaz Calls For National Unity | Prof Ali Riaz calls for joint proposal beyond party lines

The National Consensus Commission will move forward with alternative plans for implementing the July Charter if political parties fail to reach a common ground.

The commission’s Vice-President Prof Ali Riaz made the remarks on the fourth day of discussions on the implementation process of the July Charter at the Foreign Service Academy.

Addressing party representatives, Ali Riaz said, “We know your party positions. You know them and the public knows them to some extent. But repeating the same points will not help us move forward. If you can come up with a clear and joint proposal beyond party lines, we are ready to start working on it immediately.”

“If the political parties cannot reach an agreement, then the commission will submit multiple proposals,” he said.

Representatives from 30 political parties including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and National Citizen Party, were present at the meeting.

However, Ali Riaz said a few parties still have not submitted the names of their designated representatives to sign the July Charter and urged them to promptly do so.

Ali Riaz explained, “We are working as a catalyst in this implementation process. We have presented several proposals after consulting with expert committees and reflecting your opinions.”

He recalled that during the previous meeting held on September 17, political parties had submitted six proposals. “We had said that if one common proposal could be selected from these six, we would sincerely present it to the interim government,” he added.

However, since no final proposal has yet been agreed upon, the commission has decided to prepare alternative options.

Ali Riaz said, “We cannot tell the interim government exactly how they should implement it, but we can certainly recommend that either there is a consensus or that there are multiple possible paths.”

He informed that the commission had met with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, the head of the commission, at the State Guest House Jamuna in the morning.

“He has asked us to move forward quickly and to turn this implementation process into a political document that is acceptable to all,” Ali Riaz said.

Speaking firmly, Riaz added, “Our goal is to complete this process before October 15.”

He also cautioned that the process should not disrupt upcoming election preparations.

Riaz continued, “Signing the charter is not the end of our duty. We must work together to bring structural reforms to the state. The citizens are looking up to us with that expectation.”