Congress leader Rashid Alvi slammed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government over the absence of women journalists at a press conference held by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and alleged that Prime Minister Modi bowed to the Afghan minister.
Alvi held the Center responsible for the move and not the Afghan minister. “It is understandable that the Prime Minister would bow to Trump and China, but the Indian government would bow to Amir Khan Muttaqi, who does not allow women to attend press conferences. This cannot be condemned enough… Amir Khan Muttaqi is not responsible for this; the Indian government is,” Rashid Alvi told news agency ANI on Saturday.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's press conference at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi on Friday, where Indian women journalists were reportedly not allowed to attend, sparked a political row.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday clarified that it was not involved in the press conference held by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Delhi.
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi condemned the absence of women journalists at the press conference, calling it “very unfortunate” and reflective of the Taliban's mentality.
“It is very unfortunate. Everyone knows what kind of Taliban mentality this is. Atrocities are being committed against women in Afghanistan. I had also said yesterday that when our foreign minister meets them, he should raise the issue of what is happening to the women there,” she said.
Chaturvedi urged the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to address the issue by raising concerns over the treatment of women in Afghanistan and communicating to the Taliban that such actions violate India's constitutional values of press freedom and gender equality.
“What happened to the women journalists yesterday happened in the Afghan embassy. It may not be under the control of MEA, but I hope that MEA takes note of this and writes a letter to the Taliban to address this, stating that the practices and norms in our country are in accordance with our Constitution. We also have freedom of the press and equality. Women have been given equal status. Keeping them out like this is very shameful,” he added. them to it.
Muttaqui is on a week-long visit to India from October 9 to 16. This is the first high-level delegation from Kabul to India since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
