ISLAMABAD, Feb. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Pakistan has said it expects that the 13th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit will go ahead in Bangladesh at the weekend in spite of the political situation in Nepal.

    "The information I have received so far is that the summit is taking place," the local English-language newspaper Daily Times on Wednesday quoted Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan as saying.

    Bangladesh said it remained fully prepared to host the SAARC meeting, which Pakistan currently chairs.

    The political situation in Nepal, where King Gyanendra sacked the government and imposed a state of emergency on Tuesday, has raised doubts about whether the summit can be held since SAARC's charter requires all seven heads of state or government to attend.

    Nepal's king named the lineup of a new Council of Ministers or cabinet Wednesday morning, including Minister for Foreign Affairs Ramesh Nath Pandey. Nepalese Ambassador to Bangladesh Bhagirat Barnet told Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan on Tuesday night that Nepal's King Gyanendra will arrive at Dhaka on Sunday morning to attend the two-day summit.

    Leaders of the seven-member bloc are due to hold summit sessions on Sunday and Monday after a meeting of their foreign ministers on Saturday.

    The foreign ministers and prime ministers of Pakistan and India will meet on the sidelines of the summit to discuss their slow-moving peace process.

    Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shamsher Chaudhry said Foreign Minister Morshed Khan discussed the summit with Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri on Tuesday, according to a report of Daily Times.

    "Bangladesh is fully prepared to host the 13th SAARC summit and we are confident about security measures taken for the summit," the report quoted the Bangladesh foreign secretary as saying. Enditem