In the eyes of the world SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, has enjoyed comparatively few successes since it was founded in 1985. The Charter signed by the founders of SAARC (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) promises much, but achieved few practical results. Any assessment, though, needs to take into account the regional situation and the complicated backdrop to the organisation’s formation.