Jamaat skips second phase of consensus talks

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami skipped second phase discussions with the National Consensus Commission and political parties held in Dhaka today.

The party's Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar confirmed the absence, but declined to elaborate on the reasons.

The designated seats for Jamaat's delegation—between BNP and the Nationalist Citizens' Party (NCP)—remained vacant at the Foreign Service Academy's Doel Hall until the filing of this report at 5:00pm.

The second round of the ongoing dialogue with political parties began around 11:45am today.

An NCP member told The Daily Star that Jamaat told them beforehand that they would not be attending today's meeting.

Read more

National consensus commission: Breakthrough on core reforms

The party told the commission that they felt ignored after the government declared a potential election date in February in a joint statement with BNP following the meeting between Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and the party's Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.

In protest, Jamaat opted to stay away from the talks.

However, the commission sources said it had reached out in an attempt to persuade Jamaat to attend the meeting..

Jamaat's delegation at earlier meetings was led by Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher.

In the previous meeting held before Eid-ul-Azha on June 3, assistant secretaries general of the party – Rafiqul Islam Khan and Hamidur Rahman Azad – had accompanied him.

That day, due to a Jamaat press conference in the morning, the delegation joined the meeting after the lunch break.

Parties including BNP, NCP, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Nagorik Oikya, Gono Odhikar Parishad, and Gonosonghoti Andolon participated in today's meeting.

The discussions were expected to cover a range of issues, including Article 70 of the Constitution, nomination of chairman in parliamentary standing committees, and reserved seats for women in parliament.

Other agenda items included the proposal for a bicameral legislature (upper and lower house) and the process of appointing the chief justice.

The commission is scheduled to hold meetings with political parties over three days—June 17, 18, and 19.

When asked, BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed today told reporters, "The commission itself is in the best position to explain why Jamaat did not join today's discussion."

Nurul Haque Nur, president of the Gono Odhikar Parishad, said the absence was a symbolic gesture.

"As far as we understand, Jamaat has symbolically boycotted today's meeting. There may be a number of issues on the commission's agenda that Jamaat could not align with," he said.

Expressing dissatisfaction, Gazi Ataur Rahman, joint secretary general of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, remarked, "As a significant political force, Jamaat should have been present at today's session. They haven't provided a clear explanation regarding their absence."

Read more

Consensus Commission to begin 2nd round of talks with parties in early June

Several political groups believe that Jamaat's absence stems from policy disagreements with the commission, particularly regarding the proposed reservation of seats for women and other sensitive topics.

As such, they said, their absence from the initial phase of talks has been perceived as a calculated decision.

Jamaat insiders said the party is likely to provide its formal reaction tomorrow.