The SAARC foreign ministers’ meeting, which was scheduled to take place this week in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly, has been cancelled due to Afghanistan’s absence.
Pakistan, according to sources, intended to retain an empty chair and was opposed to the involvement of members from the former Ashraf Ghani administration. According to sources, if the meeting had taken place, a representative from Afghanistan’s UN post in New York might have participated.
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Pakistan is said to have offered that a Taliban representative attends the conference as well. The remaining members voted against the idea. This was because the new Taliban rule has yet to be recognized by nations worldwide, and they have not requested credentials from the United Nations.
The SAARC members, on the other hand, could not agree on this matter. According to sources, the SAARC foreign ministers’ meeting was cancelled due to a lack of unanimity. The SAARC secretariat received a letter from Nepal’s foreign ministry, stating that the informal meeting of the SAARC council of ministers proposed to be held in person on the sidelines of the 76th UN General Assembly session will not take place due to a lack of agreement from all member states as of today.
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Afghanistan is the SAARC’s newest member, having joined in 2007. The group includes India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. On January 17, 1987, the SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu.
