Attorney General (AG) Md Asaduzzaman at a programme on Saturday sought political parties' pledge for formulating an anti-discrimination act.

"Political parties will not get our votes unless they make a commitment to formulate this act. We need a strong act as a vague act cannot provide remedy. We have to force the Law Commission and Law Ministry in this connection," he said.

The chief state counsel came up with the observations while addressing as chief guest a civic dialogue, on formulating an anti-discrimination act, at Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center.

Organised by Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and Citizen's Initiative, the dialogue was held with the assistance from UNDP and Swiss Embassy.

Citizen's Platform Convener and CPD Distinguished Fellow Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya presided over the function, where BLAST executive director and senior jurist Barrister Sara Hossain presented the keynote paper.

Supreme Court Bar Association President Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, NCP Joint Convener Khalid Saifullah, Gana Forum Acting President Subrata Chowdhury, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) General Secretary Abdullah Al Kafi Ratan, Economist Dr SR Osmani, UNDP Bangladesh Senior Adviser Dragan Popovich, addressed the dialogue among others.