Final round of reform talks to conclude today

Dr Ali Riaz, Vice-Chairman of the National Consensus Commission, has said that the second phase of talks on state reform is expected to conclude today with the resolution of all outstanding issues.

He added that a final draft of the State Reform Charter will be sent to political parties and finalized based on their feedback.

The second round of discussions with political parties began at 11:30 am on Thursday (July 31) at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital, under the Commission’s initiative.

Representatives from political parties participated in a meeting led by Professor Ali Riaz.

At the start of the talks, Dr Riaz said that despite “notes of dissent” on 13 points, preliminary consensus had been reached on the summary of recommendations from six commissions. “We hope to resolve the remaining unresolved issues in today’s discussions,” he stated.

He said that the Commission is reviewing feedback and amendments submitted by political parties and will use them to draft the final version of the Charter. Once this draft is sent to the parties, their signatures will give the Charter a collective and unified shape.

Today’s discussions are expected to cover seven key areas: the presidential election, redistribution of powers and responsibilities, formation and electoral system of the upper house, state principles, the Public Service Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the provision for appointing an ombudsman, and the expansion of fundamental rights.

According to Commission sources, all unresolved proposals will be settled through mutual discussion among the political parties today. This would pave the way for creating a guideline-based framework for the State Reform Charter.