Jamaat backs dialogue call, urges Yunus to act as referee

Staff Reporter :

Jamaat-e-Islami has welcomed the interim government’s call for political dialogue to resolve differences over the implementation of the July National Charter, but cautioned that the process may suffer from the absence of a neutral facilitator.

Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, Jamaat’s Nayeb-e-Ameer, said on Monday that while his party appreciates the Advisory Council’s decision, an impartial “referee” may still be needed to guide discussions among the parties.

“We welcome the decision taken by the Advisory Council,” Taher told reporters. “But if the council believes its responsibility ends here and that the parties must handle everything on their own, a referee might be missing from the process. Therefore, I hope the Chief Adviser himself will play that role, as he has done before.”

Taher made the remarks during a joint press conference of eight like-minded Islamist parties held at the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish central office in Paltan, shortly after the government’s own briefing earlier in the day.

Earlier, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul told a press conference that the Advisory Council had urged all political parties to engage in discussions and present a unified roadmap on the July Charter within a week. He warned that if no consensus emerges, the government would proceed with its own decision.

The National Consensus Commission, which submitted its recommendations to the government last week, has completed its task of outlining the process for implementing the July Charter, including holding a national referendum. However, political divisions persist—most notably between the BNP and Jamaat on the timing of the referendum and several constitutional issues. The National Citizen Party (NCP), led by the youth figures behind last year’s uprising, also holds differing views on certain points.

Taher’s statement signals Jamaat’s readiness to participate in inter-party dialogue but reflects a desire for continued engagement from Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus to mediate among deeply divided political forces.