No role in Taliban presser that kept women out: MEA

NEW DELHI: Amid a growing controversy over absence of women journalists from a press meet of visiting Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday, Taliban head of political office Suhail Shaheen on Saturday denied allegations that women scribes were deliberately kept out. “It was done unintentionally,”he said.

“This is not true. We have women journalists in Afghanistan, working in media outlets. Mr Muttaqi meets women journalists and delegates in his office in Kabul regularly; there’s no restriction,” Shaheen told TOI. MEA has said that it had no involvement in the press interaction held by the Afghan foreign minister.

Darul Uloom honours Taliban minister

Afghan minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was conferred the honorary title ‘Qasmi’ and granted a sanad (cerificate) to teach Hadith during his visit to Darul Uloom Deoband . His speech was cancelled due to overcrowding .