The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, expressed similar sentiments.

"We will not succeed in achieving this goal until all members of SAARC, without exception or reservation, commit not to allow their territories to be used directly or indirectly to shelter or train terrorist networks," Afghan President Hamid Karzai said.

Host Bhutan expressed frustration with SAARC's dearth of notable achievements. Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley blamed the lack of focus on quarrels among neighbors preventing the community from becoming prosperous.

The annual leaders' summit is frequently criticized as a talking shop that adopts ambitious declarations, which have failed to deliver anything substantive for the region's one-and-one-half billion people.