India Denies Role in Taliban Minister’s Delhi Press Meet Excluding Women Journalists

New Delhi, Oct 2025 : India on Saturday clarified that it had “no role to play” in the controversial press conference organised for Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi, which sparked outrage after women journalists were barred from attending.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that invitations to the event were not issued by the Indian government but by Afghanistan’s Consul General in Mumbai, who invited a select group of Delhi-based journalists. The MEA further noted that the Afghan Embassy premises fall outside the jurisdiction of the Indian government, according to an NDTV report quoting the ministry.

The press interaction, held on Friday at the Afghan Embassy in Delhi, excluded women journalists, several of whom were reportedly prevented from entering the venue. Many journalists later expressed their disappointment on social media, highlighting that all attendees had complied with the prescribed dress code.

The exclusion prompted strong political reactions and widespread backlash across social media platforms. Opposition leaders, including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, criticised the Centre for permitting such an event on Indian soil.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Priyanka Gandhi demanded clarification from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying:

“If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to another, how has this insult to some of India’s most competent women been allowed in our country — a nation whose women are its backbone and pride?”

Muttaqi, a senior figure in the Taliban government, is widely criticised for overseeing policies in Afghanistan that severely curtail women’s rights, including bans on female education and employment.

His visit to India, which began on Thursday, included a meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. The discussions reportedly focused on India’s support for Afghanistan’s development, bilateral trade, territorial integrity, capacity building, and people-to-people ties.

However, despite the diplomatic significance of the visit — especially in light of India’s cautious engagement with the Taliban — the subsequent press conference was limited in access and lacked transparency, according to media observers. Only 15 to 16 journalists were reportedly invited, many of whom said they were informed of the event just hours in advance.

Sources told IANS that Taliban official Ikramuddin Kamil, who heads the Afghan Consulate in Mumbai, personally contacted selected journalists to issue informal invitations. Female journalists, however, were deliberately excluded from the outreach, leading to allegations of discrimination and lack of media freedom.

The Afghan Embassy in New Delhi continues to be headed by Charge d’Affaires Mohammad Ibrahim Khil, appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani administration, while Taliban-appointed officials control the consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Media organisations and civil society groups have since criticised the selective press access, calling it a breach of democratic values and a setback to transparency in India’s diplomatic engagements.

The incident comes at a time when the Taliban regime continues to face international condemnation for its harsh restrictions on women. Recently, it even banned books authored by women in Afghan universities and dropped 18 academic courses, including Gender and Development, Women’s Sociology, Human Rights, and Afghan Constitutional Law.