Facing mounting criticism over the absence of women journalists at his initial press conference in New Delhi, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday, October 12, clarified that the move was not deliberate, describing it as a “technical issue.”

Muttaqi, who is on a week-long visit to India, the first by a senior Taliban minister since the group seized power in 2021, held a second press interaction at the Afghan Embassy in Delhi, this time inviting female reporters. “It was more of a technical issue,” Muttaqi said. “Our colleagues had decided to send invitations to a specific list of journalists, and there was no other intention apart from this.”

The clarification followed a storm of criticism from Indian opposition parties, media bodies, and rights groups after women journa

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