Pakistan is insisting that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan be allowed to send a representative to the upcoming SAARC foreign ministers’ meet. This annual meeting was held virtually in 2020 owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

The informal meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Council of Ministers was to be held in-person on September 25 on the sidelines of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

However, the Nepalese Foreign Ministry issued a communiqué saying that the meet stands cancelled owing to “lack of concurrence from all Member States”.

Communiqué issued by Nepal’s Foreign Ministry | India Today

Sources tell India Today that most SAARC member states refused to entertain Pakistan’s request to allow the Taliban regime to represent Afghanistan in the informal meeting.

Pakistan also insisted that none of the representatives of the Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani be allowed at the SAARC foreign ministers’ meet at any cost.

READ: Fissure widens between Pak Army and ISI chiefs over control in Afghanistan

Owing to the opposition of most member states to these requests, a consensus could not be reached and the SAARC foreign ministers’ meet slated for September 25 had to be cancelled.

The Taliban overthrew the democratically elected government in Afghanistan on August 15 of this year. Following the withdrawal of US troops from Kabul on August 31, the Taliban announced the formation of an interim cabinet to manage the country’s affairs.

Amir Khan Muttaqi was named the acting foreign minister in the Taliban regime led by Mullah Akhund, chief of the militant group’s most powerful decision-making body – the Rehbari Shura.

However, very few countries have recognised the Taliban regime as the legitimate government representing the Afghan people.

PM Modi addressing SAARC leaders, including Ashraf Ghani, in a video conference on March 15, 2020 | PTI

Afghanistan is the youngest member state of SAARC, which has seven other member states – India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The SAARC Secretariat was set up in Kathmandu on January 17, 1987.

The grouping also has nine observers, namely China, the European Union (EU), Iran, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar and the US.