The New Nation - Internet Edition

The former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia who was released on bail Thursday after a year in detention reportedly agreed during talks with four advisers on Friday night that she would help rid politics of bad elements and agree to a code of conduct to ensure political stability.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed called Khaleda over telephone during the meeting and briefed her on the overall goals of the government. The conversation lasted 10 minutes.

The Commerce and Education Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman led the advisers to the talks. LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal, Communications Adviser Ghulam Quader and Law adviser Hassan Ariff were the other advisers who took part in it.

Mentionably, the Advisers held talks with AL chief Sheikh Hasina at her Sudha Sadan residence in Dhanmondi, hours after her release on executive orders in June. During that meeting too the CA called the AL chief.

At a news briefing later, the advisers said they discussed a number of issues including the possibility of formal talks between the government and BNP.

"We've formally invited her to dialogue with the government. She has consented to sit as soon as possible," Hossain Zillur said.

After her release on Thursday Begum Khaleda Zia made it known that her son Tarique Rahman who held the post of senior joint secretary general of the BNP would not take part in politics as he would be on treatment abroad for the next two to three years. Tarique on his way to London is learnt to have given a declaration at the airport about his retirement.

It thus appears that smells of party reform are there in the talks of the former prime minister, and there is no room for extra jubilation for those accused who are now out on bail or parole would be relieved of the charges of corruption.

The important thing is that there is no scope to sidetrack reforms without which politics cannot be made functional, because without reforms democracy will also not survive.

The army-backed caretaker government has not imposed reforms from above; they want the reforms to be initiated by the political parties and their leaders themselves.

For electoral reforms the Election Commission has put forward a set of recommendations which the commission did air long before and discussed those with political parties and cross sections of the society at different stages of the consultation process.

It is desirable that political parties and their leaders reform themselves as well as the system with a view to making governance good and transparent with a view to building a happy, prosperous, corruption-free and transparent Bangladesh. Reforms based on felt-demands would endure and this in turn would make democracy durable.