KATHMANDU: Pakistan has been insisting that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan be allowed to send a representative to the upcoming SAARC foreign ministers' meet.
The informal meeting 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".
Very few countries have recognised the Taliban regime as the legitimate government representing the Afghan people. Afghanistan is the youngest member state of SAARC.
This annual meeting was held virtually in 2020 owing to the coronavirus pandemic.