• Source:JND
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Taliban Press Conference Row: A day after a massive uproar in India, after Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held a restrictive press conference in the Afghan Embassy premises in New Delhi, while no women journalists were allowed, a Taliban official termed the move “unintentional”.

A Taliban official told News 18 that the passes were limited, and several male reporters were not able to attend the press conference held in the national capital following a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

“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," News18 quoted the Taliban official as saying.

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

How did Taliban press conference turn controversial in India?

Muttaqi arrived in the capital on Thursday and held talks with Jaishankar, where they held discussions on India's support for Afghanistan's development, bilateral trade, territorial integrity and people-to-people ties and capacity-building, besides several other issues.

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However, the press conference by Muttaqi held later at 3.30 PM at the Afghan Embassy was not open to a wider media fraternity, and excluded women journalists too. Despite being a significant diplomatic engagement- especially given India's cautious stand on the Taliban.

Massive outrage among journalist fraternity in India

Journalists who did not wish to be named and attended this press interaction told IANS that they were informed about this press conference only in the morning.

Similarly, questions have also emerged over the restrictive media access given to journalists, as only 15-16 media personnel attended this conference.According to the information, Taliban official Ikramuddin Kamil, who heads the Afghanistan's Mumbai consulate since last year, reached out to these selected journalists himself via a phone call and gave them the informal invitation.

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Similarly, women journalists have also expressed their anger at not inviting any female reporter.

Notably, the Taliban regime in Kabul has faced severe criticism from various countries as well as global bodies like the United Nations for restricting rights of women in Afghanistan.

(With inputs from agencies)