Amid the controversy over Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s press conference in the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi where women journalists were not allowed to attend the event, a photo circulating on social media (here, here, and here) shows a meeting or conference in a hall with several people seated, including some women, claiming that women journalists were indeed present at the press conference held on 10 October 2025, contradicting the general reporting about that event. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.
Claim: The photo shows female reporters were present at Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s press conference on 10 October 2025 in the Afghanistan Embassy.
Fact: The viral photo does not show female journalists present at Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s press conference on 10 October 2025 in the Afghanistan Embassy; it is actually from an event at the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) in Delhi, where Muttaqi spoke on economic, cultural, and historical ties between India and Afghanistan. Multiple media reports and the VIF post confirm this. Taliban political chief Suhail Shahi confirmed that no women journalists were present at the 10 October 2025 press conference but described their absence as unintentional, citing limited press passes. However, the second press conference on 12 October 2025 included female journalists. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
A Google Lens search of the viral photo led us to an X post by the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), a New Delhi-based think tank specialising in foreign affairs, national security and strategy, and public policy, dated 10 October 2025, featuring the same viral photo as one of the photos in the post. According to the post, the photo is from an event attended by Amir Khan Muttaqi at VIF, where he discussed economic, historical, cultural, and civilizational ties between the two countries. During the discussion, Muttaqi also referenced the story Kabuliwala written by Rabindranath Tagore. Several media reports (here, here, and here) have covered this event and published articles featuring the same photo, stating that it is from Muttaqi’s attendance at the Delhi think tank event. This makes it clear that the viral photo is not from Muttaqi’s press conference, in which women journalists were reportedly not allowed entry on 10 October 2025.
The Aaj Tak fact check quoted news anchor and journalist Pranay Upadhyay of India Today and Aaj Tak, who attended Muttaqi’s press conference on 10 October, confirming that no female journalists were present.
On 10 October 2025, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held his first press conference in New Delhi inside the Afghanistan Embassy. The event faced widespread criticism as women journalists were reportedly not allowed to attend, sparking debates both in India and internationally. Media reports highlighted that the exclusion of female reporters was seen as reflecting the Taliban’s restrictive policies toward women. However, Taliban political chief Suhail Shahi reportedly stated that the entry of female journalists into the press conference was not banned and that the incident happened unintentionally. He added that the Taliban had no intention of barring female journalists from attending the event and that allegations of discrimination against them are false. Suhail Shahi also stated that there were limited passes for the press conference, which some received and others did not.
Following the controversy over the exclusion of women journalists at his first press conference in New Delhi, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held a second briefing on 12 October 2025 at the Afghan Embassy, which was notably inclusive, with around half of the 100 attending journalists being women.
In the entire controversy, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs clarified that the Indian government had no role in the press conference held at the Afghan Embassy on 10 October 2025.
To sum up, this viral photo is from a VIF event in Delhi, not Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s press conference on 10 October 2025.
