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'Not involved' in Afghan minister's Delhi press conference that barred women journalists, says MEA

Scroll | October 12, 2025 3:39 AM CST

The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday said that it was not involved in the press conference held by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Delhi on Friday in which women reporters were not invited, ANI reported.

“MEA had no involvement in the press interaction held yesterday by the Afghan FM in Delhi,” the news agency quoted the ministry as having said in a statement.

Several journalists on Friday said that women reporters were not invited to the press conference and added that this decision was “unacceptable”.

Muttaqi had met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday morning and held the press conference at the Afghan embassy in the evening to share details about his trip to India – the highest bilateral contact between New Delhi and the Taliban since 2021.

Images shared by Hafiz Zia Ahmad, the director of public communication for Afghanistan’s foreign ministry, on social media also showed no women reporters present during the press conference.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan has been accused of severe human rights abuses, especially against women and minorities.

In September 2021, the insurgent group banned education for girls above class six, claiming that it did not comply with its interpretation of the Sharia, or Islamic law. This came a month after the group retook control of Afghanistan.

It has also barred women from several jobs and most public...