Dhaka: National Consensus Commission Vice-Chairman Professor Ali Riaz announced today that political parties have agreed not to use the declaration of a state of emergency for political purposes under any circumstances.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Riaz informed the media about this consensus following the 10th day of the second phase of talks between the commission and political parties at the Foreign Service Academy. The discussions also encompassed potential amendments to Article 141 (a), (b), and (c) of the constitution. Present at the media briefing were commission members Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Dr. Badiul Alam Majumder, Safar Raj Hossain, Dr. Md. Ayub Mia, and Chief Adviser's Special Assistant Monir Haidar.
Riaz highlighted that the meeting addressed the declaration of a state of emergency and the expansion of subordinate courts at the upazila level. He noted that Article 141, which pertains to declaring a state of emergency, had not been extensively discussed in the past. A revised proposal on the state of emergency declaration has been put forth by the Consensus Commission, requiring further discussion in subsequent meetings to determine the extent of agreement on this issue.
The political parties and alliances involved in the talks with the Consensus Commission have also concurred on a phased approach to expanding subordinate courts at the upazila level. However, they emphasized that several considerations must be addressed for this expansion, such as attaching Sadar Upazilas' courts to the District Judge Court.
Riaz further stated that existing Chowki Courts, Island Courts, and established courts should remain, with necessary infrastructure developments. New courts are deemed unnecessary in upazilas near district headquarters, pending a required survey. Establishing courts in remaining upazilas should factor in population density, geographical characteristics, transportation, distance, economic status, and case volume.
The discussions involved representatives from 30 political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP), Gana Odhikar Parishad, Gana Sanghati Andolon, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Biplobi Workers Party, and Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party.