Confirming receipt of a "formal request" from Afghanistan, the Foreign Office spokesperson said here that the 'request' had been forwarded to Saarc Secretariat for circulation among member states. "Pakistan supports Afghanistan's membership of Saarc," she added.
The issue of membership of Afghanistan of the seven-member grouping is likely to come up at the summit meeting in Dhaka. Pakistan's announcement has come almost simultaneously with Indian State Minister for External Affairs E Ahmad's comment that "We will welcome Afghanistan's entry into Saarc".
China and Myanmar, too, have expressed desire to be member of the grouping but their formal requests for membership have not yet materialised, said a diplomatic source, adding that "ideally all three should be inducted simultaneously".
Ever-since the ouster of the Taleban regime in 2001 the Afghan government has been approaching Saarc member states for membership. Last month, during his visit here, President Karzai was assured of unqualified support for membership. India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had pledged his government's support to Karzai during the formers visit to Kabul in August.