India Denies Role In Taliban Event After Women Journalists Barred In New Delhi

They called the incident an insult to Indian women and a test of the Indian government’s commitment to gender equality.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a member of the Lok Sabha, urged Modi on Saturday to clarify his position on the exclusion of women journalists, asking why the Taliban were allowed to “insult some of India’s most accomplished women.”

In a post on X addressed to the prime minister, Gandhi Vadra said that if Modi’s support for women’s rights was not “an election gimmick,” he must explain how such an incident was permitted to occur in India. She added that women are the “backbone and pride of India.”

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition, also condemned the prime minister’s silence, accusing him of failing to defend Indian women from discrimination. He wrote on X that by allowing the Taliban to exclude female journalists, Modi was effectively signalling that Indian women were “too weak to be defended.”

Gandhi said the prime minister’s silence revealed the “emptiness” of his slogans about women’s empowerment, adding that women in India have “the right to be equally present in every field.”

The controversy erupted after the Taliban’s embassy in New Delhi barred female journalists from attending Muttaqi’s press conference on Thursday, 10 October. Several major outlets, including India Today and Times Now, had received invitations to cover the event, but embassy security refused entry to women reporters.

The decision has sparked widespread outrage across Indian media. Prominent journalists and commentators have called on the government to respond, with one CNN-News18 reporter describing the silence of Indian authorities as “deeply concerning.”

Muttaqi, who is on a six-day visit to India, attended the briefing as part of a diplomatic tour aimed at strengthening ties between Kabul and New Delhi.

According to NDTV, female journalists from several major Indian outlets, including India Today and Times Now, arrived at the Afghan embassy to cover the event but were denied entry by embassy security. The guards reportedly told them there was an order prohibiting women from entering the premises, despite the journalists having official invitations and adhering to Islamic dress codes.

Efforts by reporters to speak with embassy officials or Taliban representatives were unsuccessful, as guards kept the gates closed and refused further explanation.

The incident has sparked condemnation across Indian media circles. Prominent journalists and commentators have urged the Indian government to respond, saying that such behaviour by a foreign mission on Indian soil undermines the country’s democratic values and press freedom.

A senior journalist from CNN-News18 described the government’s silence over the incident as “deeply concerning,” while analysts in New Delhi told NDTV that the episode reflects the Taliban’s broader policy of excluding women, a stance that appears to have extended into their diplomatic practices abroad.

In a statement released on Friday, the ministry said Pakistani aircraft bombed a civilian marketplace in Paktika province and also breached Kabul’s airspace. It warned that Afghanistan reserves the legitimate right to defend its territory.

“We strongly condemn the violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and consider defending it our legitimate right,” the ministry said.

The Taliban’s Defence Ministry further cautioned that any escalation of tensions following Pakistan’s actions would be the responsibility of the Pakistani military.

Islamabad has not yet commented on the Taliban’s accusations. The incident marks the latest flashpoint in the increasingly strained relations between the two neighbours, who have traded blame over cross-border militancy and airspace violations in recent months.

Speaking at a press conference in Peshawar, Chaudhry said the army had seized a number of American-made weapons during recent operations against militants. He noted that military assessments indicate more than US$7 billion worth of weapons were abandoned in Afghanistan, many of which are now being used by the TTP.

“Militants are using American weapons, and our forces have captured them during operations,” he said.
Chaudhry added that more than 3,000 militant attacks have occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province over the past three months, criticising the provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan for failing to maintain security.

Referring to Afghanistan, he warned that “space for those supporting terrorists is shrinking” and urged that sponsors and facilitators of terrorism “end their policies and hand over the terrorists to Pakistan.”

Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, he claimed that militant groups operating in Afghanistan enjoy access to safe havens and advanced weaponry.

Chaudhry said that militant attacks inside Pakistan have sharply increased in recent years, adding that between 2024 and 2025 alone, 161 Afghan nationals involved in terrorist incidents were killed by Pakistani security forces.

He further stated that 135 foreign fighters were killed while attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan, and that around 30 suicide bombers who carried out attacks in the past two years were Afghan nationals.

“These figures clearly demonstrate how India is using Afghan soil as an operational base for terrorist activities against Pakistan,” Chaudhry said.

The Taliban authorities in Kabul and Indian officials have yet to respond to the allegations.