Bangladesh consensus commission fails to find agreement
DHAKA: Bangladesh's National Consensus Commission, tasked by the caretaker government to lead critical democratic reforms after a mass uprising last year, said Monday that political parties had failed to reach agreement.
The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led revolt in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years.
Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who is leading the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections are held, has previously said he inherited a 'completely broken down' system of public administration.
Yunus has said it required a comprehensive overhaul to prevent a future return to authoritarian rule. He set up six commissions to do that work, overseen by the Consensus Commission, which he heads.
Ali Riaz, the commission's vice president, said that despite marathon efforts they had not reached a deal.
'It wasn't possible to reach a consensus on several significant constitutional issues,' Riaz told reporters in Dhaka, saying talks stretched over 45 sessions.
'We have been discussing 166 recommendations with 38 political parties and alliances.'
Riaz, a political science professor at Illinois State University, said the teams would not give up.
'We are going to begin a second round of talks,' he said, adding that the country's statistics bureau would 'conduct a household survey to gauge public opinion.' The commission plans to include 46,000 families in the survey.
Contentious issues include whether a prime minister can serve more than two terms, and the process for selecting the president.
The procedure for appointing the chief of the interim government, and the duration of its tenure, has also divided parties, Riaz said.
Parties also debated recommendations to change the terms of the constitution from 'secularism' to 'pluralism.'
Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority nation, with Hindus accounting for less than a tenth of the population.
'Although most parties rejected the idea of pluralism, they recommended incorporating some form of protection for minorities,' he said.
Yunus warned on Saturday that political power struggles risked jeopardizing gains that have been made, carrying out two days of talks with more than 20 political party leaders.
Hasina's rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
Her government was also accused of politicizing courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections to dismantle democratic checks on its power.
Yunus has said polls could be held as early as December but that holding them later — with the deadline of June 2026 — would give the government more time for reform.
On Saturday, Yunus met with the key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as the election front-runners, who are pushing hard for polls to be held by December.
The military insisted at a press conference on Monday that there was no division with Yunus.
It was the first address to the media since army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman gave an address to officers on May 21.
He said that elections should be held by December, aligning with BNP demands, according to Bangladeshi media and military sources.
'There is no rift between the government and the Bangladesh Army,' Lt. Col. Muhammad Shafiqul Islam told reporters.
'We share a cordial relationship and are working together for the sake of the country.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Pakistan to Nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
Pakistan said on Saturday it would recommend US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, an accolade that he has said he craves, for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan. Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran's nuclear facilities. Pakistan has condemned Israel's action as a violation of international law and a threat to regional stability. In May, a surprise announcement by Trump of a ceasefire brought an abrupt end to a four-day conflict between nuclear-armed foes India and Pakistan. Trump has since repeatedly said that he averted a nuclear war, saved millions of lives, and grumbled that he got no credit for it. Pakistan agrees that US diplomatic intervention ended the fighting, but India says it was a bilateral agreement between the two militaries. "President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi, which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation," Pakistan said. "This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker." Governments can nominate people for the Nobel Peace Prize. There was no immediate response from Washington. A spokesperson for the Indian government did not respond to a request for comment. Trump has repeatedly said that he's willing to mediate between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region, their main source of enmity. Islamabad, which has long called for international attention to Kashmir, is delighted. But his stance has upended US policy in South Asia, which had favored India as a counterweight to China, and put in question previously close relations between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a social media post on Friday, Trump gave a long list of conflicts he said he had resolved, including India and Pakistan and the Abraham accords in his first term between Israel and some Arab countries. He added: "I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do." Pakistan's move to nominate Trump came in the same week its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met the US leader for lunch. It was the first time that a Pakistani military leader had been invited to the White House when a civilian government was in place in Islamabad. Trump's planned meeting with Modi at the G7 summit in Canada last week did not take place after the US president left early, but the two later spoke by phone, in which Modi said "India does not and will never accept mediation" in its dispute with Pakistan, according to the Indian government. Mushahid Hussain, a former chair of the Senate Defense Committee in Pakistan's parliament, suggested nominating Trump for the peace prize was justified. "Trump is good for Pakistan," he said. "If this panders to Trump's ego, so be it. All the European leaders have been sucking up to him big time."
Arab News
10 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Saturday it would recommend US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, an accolade that he has said he craves, for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan. Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran's nuclear facilities. Pakistan has condemned Israel's action as a violation of international law and a threat to regional stability. In May, a surprise announcement by Trump of a ceasefire brought an abrupt end to a four-day conflict between nuclear-armed foes India and Pakistan. Trump has since repeatedly said that he averted a nuclear war, saved millions of lives, and grumbled that he got no credit for it. Pakistan agrees that US diplomatic intervention ended the fighting, but India says it was a bilateral agreement between the two militaries. 'President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi, which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation,' Pakistan said. 'This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker.' Governments can nominate people for the Nobel Peace Prize. There was no immediate response from Washington. A spokesperson for the Indian government did not respond to a request for comment. Trump has repeatedly said that he's willing to mediate between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region, their main source of enmity. Islamabad, which has long called for international attention to Kashmir, is delighted. But his stance has upended US policy in South Asia, which had favored India as a counterweight to China, and put in question previously close relations between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a social media post on Friday, Trump gave a long list of conflicts he said he had resolved, including India and Pakistan and the Abraham accords in his first term between Israel and some Muslim-majority countries. He added: 'I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do.' Pakistan's move to nominate Trump came in the same week its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met the US leader for lunch. It was the first time that a Pakistani military leader had been invited to the White House when a civilian government was in place in Islamabad. Trump's planned meeting with Modi at the G7 summit in Canada last week did not take place after the US president left early, but the two later spoke by phone, in which Modi said 'India does not and will never accept mediation' in its dispute with Pakistan, according to the Indian government. Mushahid Hussain, a former chair of the Senate Defense Committee in Pakistan's parliament, suggested nominating Trump for the peace prize was justified. 'Trump is good for Pakistan,' he said. 'If this panders to Trump's ego, so be it. All the European leaders have been sucking up to him big time.' But the move was not universally applauded in Pakistan, where Trump's support for Israel's war in Gaza has inflamed passions. 'Israel's sugar daddy in Gaza and cheerleader of its attacks on Iran isn't a candidate for any prize,' said Talat Hussain, a prominent Pakistani television political talk show host, in a post on X. 'And what if he starts to kiss Modi on both cheeks again after a few months?'
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan recommends Trump for Nobel Peace Prize for defusing conflict with India
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has decided to formally recommend United States (US) President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for his 'decisive diplomatic intervention' during last month's India-Pakistan military standoff, it said on Saturday. The statement came after Trump took credit for a peace deal negotiated in Washington between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda and complained he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo. Trump campaigned for office as a 'peacemaker' who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency. Indian officials have denied that he had any role in its ceasefire with Pakistan. In a post on X, the Pakistani government said President Trump demonstrated 'great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship' through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation last month. 'This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker and his commitment to conflict resolution through dialogue,' it said, appreciating Trump's efforts that ultimately secured a ceasefire and averted a broader conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. The military standoff was triggered by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denied complicity. The four-day standoff had raised fears of wider conflict between the South Asian rivals who have fought multiple wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir. Trump also offered to mediate the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India. 'Pakistan also acknowledges and greatly admires President Trump's sincere offers to help resolve the longstanding dispute of Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan — an issue that lies at the heart of regional instability,' the government said. 'Durable peace in South Asia would remain elusive until the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions concerning Jammu and Kashmir.' Islamabad hoped that Trump's legacy of 'pragmatic diplomacy and effective peace-building' will continue and help resolve various ongoing crises in the Middle East. 'Pakistan remains hopeful that his earnest efforts will continue to contribute toward regional and global stability, particularly in the context of ongoing crises in the Middle East, including the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza and the deteriorating escalation involving Iran,' the government added.
