SAARC foreign ministers’ meet cancelled after Pakistan insists on Taliban participation

The annual SAARC foreign ministers' meet scheduled for September 25 stands cancelled after most member states refused to entertain Pakistan's request to allow the Taliban regime to represent Afghanistan in the meeting.

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.