Afghan minister retracts, invites women journalists for New Delhi presser after massive outrage
Muttaqi, who is on six-day India visit, faced backlash for his previous press conference that excluded women journalists.
PTC News Desk: Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has called for an inclusive press conference in New Delhi on Sunday with women journalists in attendance, after massive outrage for their exclusion from his earlier media interaction on Friday.
Muttaqi, who is on six-day India visit, faced backlash for his previous press conference that excluded women journalists. Photographs from the vent showed only men journalists present for the press briefing addressed by the visiting Taliban minister, triggering condemnation from journalists, opposition leaders, and women’s rights advocates.
Several media bodies including the Editors' Guild of India and the Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC) had described the exclusion as 'highly discriminatory', and dismmised any kind of justification under diplomatic privilege or the Vienna Convention.
Amid growing criticism, the Afghan foreign minister’s team reissued invitations for a press interaction scheduled for Sunday, calling it an “inclusive” event open to all media representatives.
Senior Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived in New Delhi on Thursday, marking his first official visit since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. On Friday, he met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to discuss bilateral trade, humanitarian aid, and regional security cooperation.
Muttaqi’s visit is part of the Taliban government’s broader push to reconnect with neighbouring countries, even as it faces widespread condemnation for curbing women’s rights, education, and public participation. Amid the backlash, the Indian government distanced itself from the earlier press event, stating, “The Ministry of External Affairs had no involvement in the press interaction held yesterday by the Afghan foreign minister in Delhi,” according to official sources.
The clarification followed criticism from opposition leaders, who accused the government of permitting a discriminatory event to take place in India.