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Afghanistan was added to the regional grouping at the behest of India on November 13, 2005, With the addition of Afghanistan, the total number of member states were raised to eight (8). In April 2006, the United States of America and South Korea made formal requests to be granted observer status. The European Union has also indicated interest in being given observer status, and made a formal request for the same to the SAARC Council of Ministers meeting in July 2006. On August 2, 2006 the foreign ministers of the SAARC countries agreed in principle to grant observer status to the US, South Korea and the European Union. On 4 March 2007, Iran requested observer status. (more) Selected Article
 Bengali or Bangla (বাংলা, IPA: [ˈbaŋla]) is an Indo-Aryan language of East South Asia, evolved from Prakrit, Pali and Sanskrit. With nearly 200 million native speakers, Bengali is one of the most widely spoken languages of the world (it is ranked between four and seven based on the number of speakers). Bengali is the main language spoken in Bangladesh, and the second most commonly spoken language in India (after Hindi-Urdu). Along with Assamese, it is geographically the most eastern of the Indo-European languages. Owing to the Bengal renaissance in the 19th and 20th centuries, Bengali literature emerged among the richest in South Asia, and includes luminaries such as Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian to be awarded a Nobel Prize. Like most other modern Indic languages, Bengali arose from the Apabhramsha melting pot of Middle Indic languages, around the turn of the first millennium CE. Some argue for much earlier points of divergence - going back to even 500 BCE, but the language was not static, and different varieties co-existed concurrently, and authors often wrote in multiple dialects. In particular, the eastern region language known as Abahatta (with considerable overlap with Purvi and Magadhi Apabhrangsha), had begun to emerge by the seventh century AD. Hiuen Tsang has noted that the same language was spoken in most of Eastern India. (more...) Selected Quotation
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The Kingdom of Bhutan (English pronunciation: /buːˈtɑːn/) is a landlocked nation in the Himalaya Mountains, sandwiched between India and the People's Republic of China in South Asia. The local name for the country is Druk Yul. It is also called Druk Tsendhen (land of the thunder dragon), because the thunder there is said to be the sound of roaring dragons. Historically Bhutan was known by many names, such as Lho Mon (southern land of darkness), Lho Tsendenjong (southern land of the cypress), and Lhomen Khazhi (southern land of four approaches). The origins of the name Bhutan are unclear; historians have suggested that it may have originated in variations of the Sanskrit words Bhota-ant (the end of Bhot – another word for Tibet), or Bhu-uttan (highlands). The word Bhutan as a name for the country dates from the late 19th century.
Bhutan is one of the most isolated and least developed nations in the world; however, the country maintains strong economic and cultural links with India. Foreign influences and tourism are heavily regulated by the government to preserve the country's traditional culture and national identity. The landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the south to the Himalayan heights in the north, with some peaks exceeding seven thousand metres. Mahayana Buddhism is the state religion and accounts for about half the population. Thimphu is the capital and largest city. At a glance
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Ahmad Shah Abdālī (c.1723-1773) (Pashto/Persian: احمد خان ابدالی - Ahmad Khan Abdālī), also known as Ahmad Shāh Durrānī, was the founder of the Durrani Empire. Most Historians view him as an Amir of Khorasan. The Pashtuns of Afghanistan often call him Ahmad Shāh Bābā. Ahmad Shah began his career as head of the Abdali tribe by capturing Ghazni from the Ghilzai Pashtuns, and then wresting Kabul from the local ruler, and thus strengthened his hold over most of present-day Afghanistan. Leadership of the various Afghan tribes rested mainly on the ability to provide booty for the clan, and Ahmad Shah proved remarkably successful in providing both booty and occupation for his followers. Apart from invading the Punjab three times between the years 1747-1753, he captured Herat in 1750 and both Nishapur (Neyshabur) and Meshed (Mashhad) in 1751. Although many historians accuse him of massacre and looting, his image is glorified in Afghanistan and to a lesser extent in Pakistan. In fact, he is considered to be the father of the nation for Afghanistan.A giant picture on a billboard is placed at Ghazi Stadium in the Afghan capital, Kabul. Similar picture on a billboard is placed at Kandahar's Stadium, in the southern city of Kandahar. (more...) Wikipedia in South Asian Languages
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 Islamabad (help·info) (Urdu: اسلام آباد) is the capital city of Pakistan, and is located in the Potohar Plateau in the northwest of the country. It is located within the Islamabad Capital Territory, the area has historically been a part of the crossroads of the Rawalpindi and the North-West Frontier Province (the Margalla pass being a historic gateway to the North-West Frontier Province. Islamabad is located at 33°40′N 73°10′E / 33.667°N 73.167°E.
The city was built during the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan's capital. A Greek firm of architects, Doxiadis Associates, drew up a master plan, triangular in shape based on a grid system with its apex towards the Margalla Hills. Rawalpindi is considered its sister city due to the close proximity of the two cities. Islamabad is a rather modern and clean city, especially in comparison to other cities in Pakistan. It is well-organized, with the city being divided into different sectors and zones. Islamabad was divided into eight zones: the diplomatic enclave, the commercial district, the educational sector, the industrial area and so on, each with its own shopping area and park. Islamabad is also home to the Faisal Mosque which is well known for its architecture and immense size. The mosque was gifted by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. (more) Related portals
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