'Unintentional': Taliban on row over no women journalists at Delhi presser, says Muttaqi hosts them regularly in Kabul

Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at a press conference in New Delhi on Friday. (Image: X/@HafizZiaAhmad)

Amid a row over women journalists not being invited to attend the press conference of Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Delhi, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen issued a clarification saying that the exclusion was "unintentional".

“There is no discriminatory policy against women. The number of passes was limited; some received them, some did not. It was a technical matter and should not be viewed as a policy issue," Shaheen said in an exclusive conversation with News18 India.

“There is no such thing that this is an intentional act to exclude women from the briefing. There were male journalists also who were not able to get pass to participate in the briefing," the spokesperson for the Taliban regime said.

The Afghan spokesperson also highlighted that Muttaqi often hosts women journalists in his office in Kabul. “Muttaqi meets women in his office in Kabul regularly. I myself do interviews with female journalists," Shaheen told News18 India.

He also told News18 India that, during future visits to India, women journalists would be included in press interactions, provided both delegations coordinate properly and media representatives communicate in advance to avoid any issues.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), it had "no role to play" in the press conference addressed by Muttaqi.

MEA stated that the invites for the press meet went to select journalists from Afghanistan's Consul General in Mumbai who were stationed in Delhi for the Afghan minister's visit. The Afghan Embassy territory does not come under the jurisdiction of the Indian government, it pointed out, NDTV reported.

What is the row?

Women journalists were reportedly not invited to the press conference held on Friday at the Afghanistan Embassy. Some female journalists were also allegedly stopped from entering the meet. Shortly after the press meet, many journalists expressed their anger on social media and also pointed out that all women reporters had respected the dress code, according to NDTV.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan is known for the restrictions it imposes on women, especially barring them from working. Recently, it even banned books authored by women in Afghan universities and dropped 18 courses, including Gender and Development, Women's Sociology, Human Rights, Afghan Constitutional Law, and Globalisation and Development.