Politics suddenly heated up, CA calls emergency meetings with three parties

The political situation in the country has suddenly flared up amid ongoing differences among political parties over the implementation process of the July Charter. In this context, today, Sunday, Chief Adviser of the Interim Government Professor Muhammad Yunus is set to meet with the BNP, Jamaat, and the National Citizen Party (NCP).

The situation arose after Nurul Haque was injured on Friday night when the army and police baton-charged during clashes between the Jatiya Party and Gono Odhikar Parishad activists. Almost all parties, including the interim government, have condemned and protested the incident.

In light of this, at a meeting of the Interim Government chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Saturday, it was decided that a judicial probe would be launched into the attack on Gono Odhikar Parishad president Nurul Haque.

Press secretary to the chief adviser, Shafiqul Alam, announced the decision at a press conference yesterday afternoon. He said the chief adviser has called meetings today with the BNP, Jamaat, and the NCP to discuss the current situation and the elections. Separate meetings will be held with each of the three parties.

When asked, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed told Prothom Alo yesterday evening that they received invitation from the chief adviser. Discussions will likely focus on the current political and electoral situation.

“They have scheduled it at 3:00 pm. At that time, our party has a pre-scheduled anniversary meeting. We may request to adjust the time,” he added.

According to the chief adviser’s press wing, the BNP meeting is set for 7:30 pm, Jamaat’s for 4:30 pm, and the NCP’s for 6:30 pm. The meetings will take place at the chief adviser’s official residence, Jamuna.

NCP’s Senior Joint Convener Ariful Islam Adib told Prothom Alo that they had been invited by the chief adviser’s office. The invitation mentioned that the meeting would discuss the prevailing situation. He said the chief adviser will meet the NCP at 6:30 pm.

Sources indicated that during talks with the political parties, the issue of taking action against the Jatiya Party (JaPa) — seen as a collaborator of the fascist Awami League regime — might also come up.

Additionally, the government’s law-and-order core committee will also meet today.

Meanwhile, Gono Odhikar Parishad staged a protest rally yesterday afternoon demanding that the Jatiya Party be banned within 48 hours.

Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman, responding to reporters’ questions in Jhenaidah yesterday, said the Jatiya Party betrayed the people between 1982 and 1990. By siding with the Awami League during the July uprising, they exposed their old history. Hence, the demand for banning the party will be examined legally, and necessary steps will be taken.

Regarding today’s meeting with the chief adviser, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar told Prothom Alo last night, “We received a phone call from the chief adviser’s office inviting us to a discussion. The topics will be known after the talks.”

As the political situation suddenly heat up, debates have emerged in political circles over whether the next election will be held on schedule.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, speaking at a rally in Mymensingh yesterday afternoon, said that a group is trying to sabotage the upcoming national election.

Meanwhile, in a statement yesterday condemning the attack on Nurul Haque, the interim government reaffirmed that the next national election will be held in the first half of February 2026. It declared that the people’s will shall prevail and no evil force will be allowed to obstruct democracy’s forward march.

At the same time, in an effort to build consensus on the July National Charter, the National Consensus Commission has been engaging in informal talks with political parties.

Disagreements over the implementation mechanism and the declaration of commitments have stalled the charter. The commission has held multiple informal discussions with the parties on these two issues.

Sources said that no consensus has emerged among the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the NCP — although Jamaat and the NCP are closer in position. Their main differences with the BNP lie in implementation procedures and commitments. While some minor disagreements have narrowed, on major issues the parties remain rigid.

The BNP wants constitutional reforms implemented through the next parliament. Jamaat and the NCP, however, want reforms implemented before the upcoming national election, arguing that the election must be held on the basis of reforms; otherwise, the process will be stalled.

Sources also said that the Consensus Commission has been holding both formal and informal talks with experts about implementation. The commission had hoped to begin formal talks with parties last week, but major differences prevented it. The commission now aims to narrow gaps through informal discussions before concluding the July Charter with one or two days of formal negotiations.

Monir Haidar, special assistant to the chief adviser and part of the consensus process, told Prothom Alo that dates for formal talks with the parties have not yet been finalised. The commission is holding informal discussions in various formats — sometimes with individual parties, sometimes with two or more together. More informal talks will be held.