The scheduled meeting of the foreign ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) got canceled due to a lack of concurrence from all member states, sources suggested. The meeting was expected to be held in New York on Saturday. The SAARC is the regional intergovernmental organization of eight countries of South Asia that includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. 

The member-states refused to entertain PakistanÂs request to acknowledge the Talibaan regime as the new representation of Afghanistan in the meeting. Nepal was going to host the meeting. Further, Pakistan also put forward the demand that no representatives of the ousted Afghan govt should be allowed to attend the meeting that is going to take place on the sidelines of the high-level 76th United-General-Assembly session. Most countries are still not ready to consider the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. India is on the same list and the country is not supporting the Taliban regime. Moreover, the top ministers of the Taliban have been blacklisted by the UN government. 

The Nepalese Foreign Ministry issued a communiqué saying that the meet stands canceled owing to “lack of concurrence from all Member States”.  Furthermore, PM Modi at the SCO meeting said, ÂTaliban is a non-inclusive government and the world must think before accepting or recognizing the regime.

Amir Khan Muttaqi is the new acting foreign minister of the Taliban regime led by Mullah Akhand who is the chief of the most powerful decision-making body  the Rehbari ShuraÂ. There are very few countries that have agreed with the Pakistani decision to recognize the Taliban as the new governing body in Afghanistan. 

The SAARC Secretariat was inaugurated in Kathmandu on January 17, 1987. It also has nine observers including China, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Japan, the European Union, Mauritius, Myanmar, and the US. 

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