Dhaka, Nov. 11 -- An envisaged referendum on the July Charter meant for validating uprising-driven reforms stalls amid standoff over the scrapping of notes of dissent from the National Consensus Commission report, further fueling uncertainty in the economic sphere.

Meanwhile, as the seven-day ultimatum given to political parties by the interim government for a rethink ended Monday, the government appears in two minds about the next course of action.

Except for Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, most political parties have criticised the interim government's instructions to "go and discuss" among themselves, calling it an impractical and politically flawed approach.

Jamaat had initially tried to bring parties together for a dialogue, but major...