New Delhi: Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday, October 12, denied claims that women journalists were deliberately denied entry to his recent press conference in New Delhi, saying the absence of female reporters was “more of a technical issue”.
The press meet, held at the Afghanistan Embassy after talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, sparked widespread criticism.
‘It Was Not Intentional,’ Says Muttaqi
Speaking to reporters, Muttaqi explained that the interaction on Friday was arranged on short notice and that only a select list of journalists had been invited. “It was more of a technical issue. Our colleagues had decided to send an invitation to a specific list of journalists and there was no other intention apart from this,” he said.
He added that the media list was finalised quickly due to time constraints and was not meant to exclude women reporters. The clarification came after mounting backlash from Indian journalists and opposition leaders, who questioned the decision to bar women from attending.
MEA Distances Itself, Taliban Spokesperson Responds
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that it had no role in organising the event. “MEA had no involvement in the press interaction held yesterday by the Afghan FM in Delhi,” the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen, in an interview with News18, echoed Muttaqi’s stance, calling the incident “unintentional”. He said he would raise the matter with the Afghan foreign minister upon his return to Kabul.
The controversy began after several senior women journalists reported being denied entry to the embassy for the media briefing, which took place without any joint appearance by the Indian and Afghan foreign ministers. The Afghan side conducted the press conference independently, following official bilateral discussions between Muttaqi and Jaishankar.
Muttaqi’s clarification, coming two days after the event, aims to quell the criticism over gender exclusion but has done little to ease concerns about the Taliban government’s continued restrictions on women’s participation in public events.
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