(MENAFN- Live Mint) An Afghan Taliban spokesperson on Saturday clarified that the absence of female journalists at the press conference addressed by Taliban leader and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi was unintentional, according to a report by News18.

The press conference, organised at the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi following bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Muttaqi, drew widespread criticism after women journalists claimed they were denied entry.

Also Read: Afghan FM Muttaqi in India: Absence of female journalists raises eyebrows

No joint press briefing was held after the official meeting between the two ministers, and the Afghan side alone conducted a separate media interaction at its embassy premises.

What did the Afghan spokesperson say?

News18 reported, citing an Afghan spokesperson, that Muttaqi regularly engages with women journalists at his office in Kabul. It is believed the spokesperson was referring to non-Afghan female reporters, who are typically required to follow a strict dress code when meeting Taliban officials, the report said.

“Muttaqi meets women in his office in Kabul regularly. I myself do interviews with female journalists," the spokesperson told News18.

Under the“Taliban 2.0” regime that took power in August 2021, Afghan women and girls face what the UN calls the most severe women's rights crisis in the world.

Also Read: Taliban FM Amir Khan Muttaqi visits Darul Uloom Deoband. What's the Islamic seminary's link with Afghanistan?

Rather than a more moderate approach, the Taliban have systematically expanded and intensified their restrictions on women's lives, effectively erasing them from public existence.

Earlier in the day, following the backlash from the Opposition parties, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that it had“no involvement” in the press interaction.

"MEA had no involvement in the press interaction held yesterday by the Afghan FM in Delhi," the ministry said in a statement.

What did Congress leaders say?

The exclusion of women journalists sparked political outrage nationwide. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarify his position on the incident, calling it "an insult to India's women journalists."

In a post on X, she said,“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. 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.”

Former Union Home Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram also expressed shock and disappointment, saying male journalists should have walked out in solidarity with their female colleagues.

I am shocked that women journalists were excluded from the press conference addressed by Mr Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Also Read: Afghanistan looks at India as a close friend, says Foreign Minister Muttaqi as Delhi upgrades Kabul mission to embassy

"I am shocked that women journalists were excluded from the press conference addressed by Mr Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan. In my personal view, the men journalists should have walked out when they found that their women colleagues were excluded (or not invited)," Chidambaram said in a post 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?

The Taliban minister's visit, which began on October 9 and will continue until October 16, marks the first high-level delegation from Kabul to India since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

(With inputs from agencies)

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