Indian Government's Clarification on Taliban's Delhi Press Conference Controversy, Afghanistan Said "This Happened Unknowingly"

Afghan women and girls face a serious women's rights crisis under Taliban rule.

New Delhi: The Indian government and Afghanistan have issued clarifications regarding the exclusion of female journalists from Afghanistan's press conference in Delhi. The Indian Foreign Ministry clarified that it had no role in the Delhi press conference and that the event was solely organized by the Afghan Embassy.

Whereas,Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen stated that what occurred was "inadvertent" and that they have no policy prohibiting women. The spokesperson stated that the incident was a technical matter and should be viewed as such. Shaheen clarified, "There is no discriminatory policy against women. The number of passes was limited; some received them, some did not. This was a technical matter and should not be viewed as a policy issue."

Controversy erupted on Friday over the alleged exclusion of female journalists from Afghanistan's press conference in Delhi. The ban on female journalists' entry sparked outrage on social media.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has clarified that no joint press conference was held following the bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Muttaqi. Only Afghanistan held a separate press conference at its embassy premises. During the press conference, Muttaqi spoke on regional issues, including India-Afghanistan relations, humanitarian assistance, trade routes, and security cooperation. Only select male journalists and Afghan embassy officials attended the press conference.

Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said, "There is no indication that women were deliberately excluded from the briefing. There are many male journalists who were unable to obtain passes for the briefing." Suhail even stated that Muttaqi has been meeting with female journalists in his office in Kabul. He said, "Muttaqi regularly meets with women in his office in Kabul. I also interview female journalists."

Suhail Shaheen stated that during future visits to India, female journalists will also be invited to press conferences. However, this will require close coordination between the two delegations and prior notice to media representatives to avoid any conflict.

Prime Minister @narendramodi ji, please clarify your position on the removal of female journalists from the press conference of the representative of the Taliban on his visit to India.

If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to…

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) October 11, 2025

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarify his position on the incident, calling it an "insult to India's women journalists." In a post on Instagram on Saturday, Priyanka Gandhi wrote, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, please clarify your position on the removal of women journalists from the press conference held during the Taliban delegation's visit to India. If your commitment to women's rights isn't merely a convenient posturing from one election to the next, then how was the humiliation of some of India's most capable women allowed in our country, a country where women are its backbone and pride."

Former Union Home Minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram wrote in his X post, "I am shocked that women journalists were excluded from the press conference addressed by Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. In my personal opinion, male journalists should have walked out when they learned that their female colleagues were excluded or not invited."

Under the "Taliban 2.0" regime, which took power in August 2021, Afghan women and girls are facing what the United Nations has described as the most severe women's rights crisis in the world. The Taliban have increased their restrictions on women's lives to the point where they have virtually disappeared from public view.