MM Rahmatullah: Khelafat Majlis has demanded the immediate formation of an all-party Constitution Reform Council to implement the July National Charter-2025 in line with the verdict of the February referendum, while announcing a boycott of a government-sponsored meeting on constitutional amendments.
The party made the announcement at an emergency press briefing at its auditorium in Purana Paltan on Sunday afternoon.
Khelafat Majlis Secretary General Dr Ahmad Abdul Kader alleged that the government’s initiative to amend the Constitution through a special committee was inconsistent with the mandate expressed in the referendum and the objectives of the July mass uprising.
He said the party had been invited to an exchange meeting of the government’s Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment, but its top leadership decided not to attend the meeting as a matter of principle.
The party’s position comes amid a broader political dispute over whether constitutional changes should be undertaken through a special parliamentary committee or a separate Constitutional Reform Council. Other opposition parties have also rejected the government’s committee-based approach.
In his written statement, Dr Kader said the July National Charter was adopted following the 2024 uprising with the objectives of ensuring accountability, holding a neutral election and reforming state institutions.
He claimed that voters subsequently endorsed the Charter and related reform proposals in the February 2026 referendum. Official Election Commission figures, after correction, put the number of “Yes” votes at 47,225,980, compared with 21,960,231 “No” votes.
According to Khelafat Majlis, the referendum verdict requires implementation of the agreed constitutional reforms, including changes to the caretaker government system and constitutional institutions, introduction of a bicameral parliament with a 100-member upper house and measures to strengthen judicial independence.
The party also reiterated its demand for restoring the constitutional principle of “Absolute Trust and Faith in Almighty Allah.”
The July Charter Implementation Order provides for a Constitutional Reform Council made up of elected representatives, who would simultaneously serve as members of Parliament and the Council. It says the Council would have authority to carry out constitutional reform in accordance with the Charter and referendum outcome.
Dr Kader alleged that elected MPs were required to take oath both as members of Parliament and as members of the Constitutional Reform Council. He claimed that opposition lawmakers took both oaths, while BNP lawmakers took only the parliamentary oath.
Similar criticism has recently been voiced by other opposition parties over BNP lawmakers’ decision not to take the second oath.
Khelafat Majlis also criticised the government for not placing in Parliament several ordinances introduced by the previous interim government, including measures relating to enforced disappearances, the Anti-Corruption Commission and a police commission.
“The people’s mandate was for a radical change of the Constitution, meaning comprehensive reform,” Dr Kader said. “The government is trying to replace that process with a nominal Constitution Amendment Committee.”
The party warned that any attempt to bypass the July Charter and referendum verdict through a parliamentary majority would create further political complications.
Khelafat Majlis called for the immediate formation of a Constitution Reform Council comprising all political parties represented in Parliament and urged the government to implement the constitutional reform proposals in accordance with what it described as the people’s mandate.
The briefing was chaired by Khelafat Majlis Ameer Maulana Abdul Basit Azad. Nayeb-e-Ameer Maulana Sakhawat Hossain, Maulana Ahmad Ali Qasemi, Joint Secretary General Prof Abdul Jalil, Publicity Secretary Engineer Abdul Hafiz Khasru, Central Executive Member Advocate Rafiqul Islam and Islami Jubo Majlis Secretary General Maulana Sohail Ahmad were also present.