Overview

• Women journalists were not invited to the Afghan embassy press interaction addressed by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, with attendance limited to select male reporters.
• India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it had no involvement in the embassy-held event and noted there was no joint press briefing after Muttaqi’s meeting with S. Jaishankar.
• An Afghan Taliban spokesperson later described the absence of female reporters as unintentional and said Muttaqi regularly engages with women journalists in Kabul.
• Opposition leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and P. Chidambaram condemned the exclusion and urged the government to clarify its stance, with calls for male journalists to boycott the event.
• During the visit, India confirmed it will upgrade its Technical Mission in Kabul to embassy status, as Pakistan’s Foreign Office reiterated that Afghan territory must not be used for attacks against Pakistan.