Afghanistan came into SAARC as its eighth member, not as a founder

Background

The United Nations list of Member States gives Afghanistan Date of Admission: 19-11-1946, which places it among the organisation's earliest members.
Afghanistan is not a founding member of SAARC. A Press Information Bureau release issued at the close of the 14th SAARC Summit, held in New Delhi, records that for the first time in its history, SAARC expanded its membership to welcome Afghanistan as its eighth member. The same release notes that five Observers from outside the region attended the Summit, which also decided to give a similar status to Iran; that the Summit adopted the New Delhi Declaration; that the leaders agreed to designate 2008 as the SAARC Year of Good Governance; and that agreements were signed to establish the SAARC Food Bank and the South Asian University.
The World Trade Organization's member information page states that Afghanistan has been a member of the WTO since 29 July 2016.
Afghanistan does not belong to ASEAN. The ASEAN member states page describes the eleven Member States of ASEAN, the most recent addition being Timor-Leste on 26 October 2025, and Afghanistan is not among them.