‘Technical issue, not bias’: Afghan FM defends Delhi event after women journalists excluded
New Delhi: Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday said that the exclusion of women journalists from a press conference held in New Delhi was not deliberate but resulted from a “technical issue.” The remarks came after the event drew widespread criticism across India.
Responding to the backlash, Muttaqi clarified that the absence of women at the earlier event was not driven by discrimination. “With regards to the press conference, it was on short notice and a short list of journalists was decided,” he said. “The participation list that was presented was very specific. It was more 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.”
To address the controversy, the Afghan minister organised another press interaction in New Delhi on Sunday, this time inviting women journalists to participate.
The issue came to light after several Indian media outlets and women journalists alleged they were excluded from the earlier press conference following Muttaqi’s talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) later 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.
The initial press conference, held at the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi, focused on India-Afghanistan relations, regional security, trade routes, and humanitarian assistance. Only select male journalists and Afghan embassy officials were allowed entry.
VIDEO | Delhi: On the rights of women in the Taliban-led government, Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi says, “We have relations with Ulema and Madrasas across the world, including with Deoband. We have 10 million students attending schools, of which 2.8 million are… pic.twitter.com/V6IzDixBcX
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The exclusion sparked political criticism, with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify his stance on the issue. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, please clarify your position on the removal of female journalists from the press conference of the representative of the Taliban on his visit to India,” she wrote on X. “If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to the other, then how has this insult to some of India’s most competent women been allowed in our country, a country whose women are its backbone and its pride.”
The Indian government, meanwhile, distanced itself from the incident, reiterating that it had no role in the organisation or management of the Afghan delegation’s media activities.