NCC sits with parties over July Charter implementation

The discussion began at 11:45am at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital, with NCC Vice-Chair Prof Ali Riaz presiding.

The NCC last met political parties on September 17 to explore ways to implement the July Charter, which contains 84 major reform recommendations.

During that discussion, the Commission presented the final advice of its legal experts on implementing the July National Charter 2025. But, the parties failed to reach a consensus on enacting a Constitution Order (CO), which could potentially be endorsed through a referendum held simultaneously with the upcoming national election.

The panel of legal experts recommended that the interim government could enact a CO immediately, incorporating the core reforms outlined in the July Charter 2025.

The CO could then be put to a referendum on the same date as the next general election, with a provision included for the referendum. If approved by the people, the CO would be validated from the date of its enactment.

No dialogue was held with political parties during the intervening period, as NCC Vice-Chair Prof Ali Riaz travelled to the USA on September 20 and returned on Tuesday.

So far, the NCC has conducted three rounds of dialogue with political parties: from March 20 to May 19, from June 2 to July 30 and now the third round, beginning September 14, on the implementation of the charter.

The Consensus Commission was formed on February 15 under the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government, Prof Muhammad Yunus, to prepare a reform charter by July 15, 2025.

Its tenure was later extended multiple times. The NCC must now establish a mechanism for implementing the July Charter within the next 10 days, as its extended tenure will expire on October 15, reports UNB.