The National Consensus Commission (NCC) is moving towards final decisions on several key reform issues and the political parties will be informed of the decisions by Thursday, said its Vice Chair Prof Ali Riaz  on Wednesday.

“Among the responsibilities you have entrusted to us, decision-making is crucial. We are trying to do so as quickly as possible. We expect to inform the political parties of the decisions by tomorrow,” he said at the second-phase dialogues between the NCC and political parties on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s discussions focuses on several important reform issues including the powers and responsibilities of the President, the presidential election process, the upper house formation and election process of its members, women's representation in Parliament, expansion of basic rights of the nationals, the fundamental principles of the state, and appointment process of the Public Service Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission, Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the office of the Ombudsman.

Prof Riaz said significant progress has been achieved on the issue of women’s representation in Parliament

A draft proposal on this matter was shared with the participating parties, he said.

The NCC has also shared a separate proposal with the political parties regarding the expansion of fundamental rights for citizens.

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“All parties have agreed in principle on this matter  though there are differing opinions on how these changes should be reflected in the Constitution,” he said.

“By the end of today, we will share a list of the issues on which consensus has already been reached. We hope that tomorrow we will be able to present an integrated and acceptable draft charter to all political parties,” he added.