Saleem has decided to assume the post starting March 12 after all eight SAARC countries recently gave concurrence to his nomination as the SAARC Secretary General by Maldivian government on February 22. [break]He will be serving in the capacity of SAARC Secretary General till April 30, 2014.
"We have been informally communicated that he will arrive in Kathmandu to assume the post on March 12," said Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat, Nepal Director at the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu. "Hopefully, we will receive official communication to this effect tomorrow [Friday]."
Maldivian government appointed Saleem as the Secretary General after Dhiyana Saeed tendered resignation January 22 amid allegations from senior Maldivian officials that she was siding with anti-government forces in the political crisis that engulfed the island nation.
The move comes after the Maldivian government expressed outrage over her remarks against the arrest of the country´s Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.
Dhiyana, who was the first woman SAARC Secretary General, could only serve for about 11 months of her three-year term beginning March 1, 2011.
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