Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser, has said the Jamaat-e-Islami’s absence from the second day of the National Consensus Commission’s dialogue cannot be termed a boycott.
"Leaders of the party have confirmed that they will attend Wednesday’s meeting; however, they did not provide a specific reason for missing today’s session," he told journalists on Tuesday afternoon, following the second round of talks between the National Consensus Commission and political parties.
Shafiqul said: "The interim government is completely neutral. All parties and groups that participated in the July uprising are being treated equally by the government, with no preferential treatment for any particular side."
When asked about Jamaat and the National Citizen Party's concerns regarding a joint statement by BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and the chief adviser from London, the press secretary said this does not compromise the government’s neutrality.
He cited that the Malaysian government has also held discussions with various political party leaders at different times. This is common practice in many countries, Shafiqul added.
He mentioned that the July charter will be published within July.
