Ali Riaz stresses building political consensus as national charter talks begin

Prof Ali Riaz, vice-president of the National Consensus Commission, emphasised the importance of identifying areas where political parties can reach a minimum level of agreement and preserving those for the sake of national unity.

"What matters is that we find common ground – areas where we can agree at a basic level – and protect those. That's the purpose of these discussions," he said, adding that public acceptance of the proposals is up to them.

He made the remarks during the opening session today of a dialogue involving leaders from 30 political parties. The meeting began at 11:30am at the Foreign Service Academy, with representatives from all participating parties in attendance.

Prof Ali Riaz acknowledged that while common ground may exist on some issues, each party would retain its own manifesto, agenda, and position. However, any party wishing to propose additional points would have the opportunity to present those to the public.

"We want to include in the national charter only those proposals that enjoy your consensus," he said.

"Instead of holding separate discussions with each party, we opted for a collective dialogue, believing that by listening to one another's arguments, positions might shift. Based on that, we'll develop an initial structural framework."

He noted that even if full agreement is not reached on every point, conclusions must still be drawn, particularly given the time constraints.

"Our goal is to finalise the charter by July," he said.

He added, "We have to decide what to include in the charter and what to leave out. Proposals that are not included will still be mentioned as discussed but not agreed upon."

Prof Ali Riaz further said that today's agenda includes discussions on Article 70 of the Constitution, reserved seats for women in Parliament, standing committees, and the tenure of the government – focusing on how these provisions can be made more effective in governance.