Published : 29 Oct 2025, 01:18 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 02:39 PM
Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has said Bangladesh can “free itself from the past” if the July National Charter is implemented properly and its reform process carried out with commitment.
He made the remark on Tuesday after the National Consensus Commission, led by Vice-Chairman Ali Riaz, submitted its set of implementation recommendations to him at the State Guest House Jamuna.
The handover marks the next phase in operationalising the July Charter, signed earlier this month by most major political parties and the interim government.
Following the meeting, the Chief Advisor’s press office released a video statement to the media quoting Yunus as saying: “Today is a great historic day. We began with a July Uprising, then came the most important chapter -- the July Proclamation, followed by the July Charter.
“Today is another important day -- the process of implementing the July Charter. Such a step is of historic significance.”
The July National Charter, signed on Oct 17, consolidated year-long political dialogues on restructuring the state and pledged a national commitment to reform.
The document was signed by 25 political parties to anchor Bangladesh’s transition toward a new democratic framework.
However, several key political forces -- including the National Citizen Party formed by student leaders of the July Uprising, and four left-leaning parties -- Communist Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Socialist Party, Bangladesh Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal- JaSaD, and Bangladesh Socialist Party-Marxist -- did not sign the Charter.
The Charter itself did not specify how reforms would be implemented, prompting the commission to consult political parties and legal experts to devise detailed recommendations now submitted to the government.
Yunus said the reform implementation process would determine whether the Charter truly fulfils its promise.
“If we can properly follow and advance the implementation process the commission has given us today, Bangladesh will break free from its past,” he said.
“We want to be free of that past and build a new Bangladesh -- this implementation will show us the path. I thank Riaz and all members of the commission for initiating and realising this historic day. Their long and sincere effort has brought us to this point.”
Alongside Riaz, commission members Badiul Alam Majumdar, Justice (retd) Md Emdadul Haque, Iftekharuzzaman, and Mohammad Ayub Mia attended the handover.
The interim government launched its reform drive after the Aug 5, 2024, Uprising that toppled the Awami League government. Eleven reform commissions were later established in two phases to reshape the Constitution, electoral system, public administration, judiciary, Anti-Corruption Commission, and police structure.
The July Charter emerged from months of debate and consensus-building across these bodies.
