Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has expressed dissatisfaction over the draft of the July Charter prepared by the National Consensus Commission. The party's Nayeb-e-Ameer, Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, stated that the draft is incomplete and contains some dangerous elements. He proposed that the legal legitimacy of this framework should be ensured either through an ordinance or a referendum. He also informed that Jamaat is preparing its own draft of the charter, which will be submitted to the commission soon.
Speaking at a press conference during a break in a political dialogue held at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Tuesday (July 29), Taher said, "This draft is incomplete, and some parts are dangerous. Now they are calling it a sample and admitting some mistakes. If this is just a sample, there is no need to comment. But if this is the main document, it cannot be deemed acceptable."
He further mentioned that Jamaat is working on its own draft charter, which will soon be submitted to the commission.
Regarding legal validation, Taher emphasized, “It is crucial to establish a legal foundation for implementing the July Charter. I am proposing two ways— first, promulgate an ordinance to create a legal structure and later get it approved by the elected parliament; second, seek the final opinion of the people through a referendum.”
At the same press conference, National Citizen Party (NCP) Joint Convenor Javed Raseen also expressed anger over the process of publishing the draft. He said, "The Consensus Commission had mentioned adopting six steps in the decision-making process, but suddenly published the draft without any discussion, which is not the correct approach. We strongly oppose this."
He added, "There was no discussion about the format or the process of dialogue, yet they brought forth the draft. This is completely unacceptable."