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Who faced Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki Reaction to exclusion of women journalists Sources told news agencies that since his initial press conference in New Delhi, he has scheduled another media interaction for Sunday, October 12, to which women journalists have been invited this time.
Muttaki arrived in India on Thursday on a week-long visit. His last press conference, held at the Afghanistan Embassy in Delhi on Friday, drew widespread criticism after women journalists claimed that they were barred from attending it. The incident was condemned by the media and rights groups, including the Editors Guild of India and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC).
In a joint statement, the guild described the boycott as “highly discriminatory and unfair”, and said, “Although diplomatic premises may claim protection under the Vienna Convention, this cannot justify blatant gender discrimination in access to the press on Indian soil.”
IWPC urged the Indian government to take up the issue with the Afghan Embassy to prevent a recurrence.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that it had “no involvement” in the press conference. “The Ministry of External Affairs had no role in the press conference held by the Afghan Foreign Minister in Delhi yesterday,” officials said. The Editors Guild responded that it was troubling that such a discriminatory boycott continued unchecked.
On Sunday, Muttaki described the absence of women journalists as a “technical issue”, saying that invitations were sent to a specific list of journalists. “It was a technical issue. Our colleagues had decided to send invitations to a specific list of journalists and there was no other intention,” he said.
Earlier, Taliban government spokesman Suhail Shaheen, speaking to CNN-News18, described the boycott as “unintentional” and said the matter would be raised with Muttaqi upon his return to Kabul.
A follow-up press conference on Sunday aimed to address concerns and ensure inclusive media participation.
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(edited by : Priyanka Deshpande,