"On the request of one of the member-states, the above meeting has been postponed," Saarc Secretariat notified the member-states on Wednesday. "Fresh dates will be conveyed shortly," it added.

The Safta Ministerial Council at its first meeting in Dhaka on April 20 this year had formed a sub-group on the non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and para-tariff barriers (PTBs) to remove the trade barriers as soon as possible.

It will review the existing NTBs and PTBs from time to time, identify the barriers and take steps to remove the snags through bilateral and regional negotiations. The second meeting of the sub-group will further work on the trade barriers.

Bangladesh requested the Saarc Secretariat to postpone the meeting as the country was going through a major political transition period to install an elected government through holding the next general election under a caretaker government, a senior official here told the news agency yesterday.

Commerce Ministry sources said the sub-group already had their first meeting in Kathmandu on May 16-17, finalising the terms of reference of the group.

Local businesses apprehended that non-tariff and para-tariff barriers would be a stumbling block to reaping immediate benefits from the Safta agreement.