(MENAFN- Live Mint) Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi reacted to the controversy around the absence of women journalists from his presser two days ago. He said it was more of a "technical issue."

"With regards to the press conference, it was on short notice and a short list of journalists was decided, and the participation list that was presented was very specific," Amir Khan Muttaqi said.

"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 on Sunday, October 12.

What's the controversy?

Afghan Minister Muttaqi landed in controversy after Indian women journalists were reportedly barred from attending his press conference at the Afghanistan Embassy on Friday.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the absence of women journalists from the presser.

Rahul Gandhi wrote on X, "Mr Modi, when you allow the exclusion of women journalists from a public forum, you are telling every woman in India that you are too weak to stand up for them.

"In our country, women have the right to equal participation in every space. Your silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the emptiness of your slogans on Nari Shakti," Rahul Gandhi said.

Later, the Opposition and media bodies termed the absence of women journalists from a press conference "unacceptable" and an "insult to women". They said on Saturday that PM Modi's silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the "emptiness" of his slogans on 'Nari Shakti'.

The Editors Guild of India and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) termed the act as highly discriminatory, which cannot be justified on grounds of diplomatic privilege under the Vienna Convention, news agency PTI reported.

Amir Khan Muttaqi called another press interaction on Sunday (October 12), this time inviting women journalists.

Afghan Minister's visit to India

Muttaqi, who landed in New Delhi on Thursday on a six-day trip, is the first senior Taliban minister to visit India after the group seized power four years ago. He is on a week-long visit to India, from October 9 to 16.

India has not yet recognised the Taliban set up.

The Afghan foreign minister's visit to India came at a time when both India and Afghanistan are having frosty relations with Pakistan over a range of issues, including cross-border terrorism.

Earlier on Saturday, the Afghan minister said the "future of India-Afghanistan relations seems very bright," and thanked the Ulema and people of Deoband for their reception.

"The journey has been very good so far. Not just the people of Darul Uloom, but all the people of the area have come here. I am grateful to them for the warm welcome they extended to me... I am thankful to the Ulema of Deoband and the people of the area for this warm welcome... The future of India-Afghanistan relations seems very bright," Muttaqi told ANI.

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