SAARC foreign ministers' meet called off after Pak wants Taliban at table

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has called off the informal meeting of foreign ministers, supposed to be held this week in New York, after Pakistan’s insistence on Taliban representing Afghanistan. Reports cited a ‘lack of concurrence’ among the member states for the postponement of the meeting.

Pakistan stood against the participation of representatives from Ashraf Ghani’s regime and wanted to keep an empty chair expressing disinterest. Sources revealed that an Afghan representative could have attended the meeting in New York had the meeting happened.

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Pakistan proposed the inclusion of a Taliban representative in the meeting. The proposal was turned down by other members. It showcases that the Taliban regime has not been acknowledged by government bodies across the world. The Taliban government have also not obtained credentials from the UN.

The foreign ministry in Nepal wrote to the SAARC secretariat on Tuesday citing the lack of concurrence among all member states as the reason for the cancellation of the meeting. The informal meeting was to be held on September 25 on the sidelines of the 76th UN General Assembly session.

Afghanistan joined the SAARC in 2007, and the SAARC Secretariat has been in existence since January 17, 1987. Member states of the SAARC include India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.