Overview

• Fact-checkers at The Quint found that a widely shared photo touted as showing women at the October 10 Afghan embassy briefing actually came from a Vivekananda International Foundation interaction the same day.
• The October 10 embassy press conference reportedly excluded female journalists, and Taliban official Suhail Shaheen said the absence was unintentional, with a later October 12 briefing including women.
• India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated it had no role in determining access or guest lists for the Afghan embassy event.
• A Delhi clip from a FICCI program showing Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi pressing a Sikh official’s hand to keep him in place as a woman approached circulated widely on social media.
• Javed Akhtar criticized Darul Uloom Deoband’s reception for the Taliban minister after crowds gathered for selfies, citing the group’s restrictions on girls’ and women’s education documented by the UN.