In the conference room of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, some things still have to be shifted when dozens of female journalists trickle in on Sunday morning. The lectern is pushed against the wall. In its place will be a sofa and a coffee table. And behind it: a life-size white flag, with the Islamic confession of faith in black letters.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has been visiting New Delhi since Thursday evening. It is the largest delegation to be welcomed to the Indian capital since the Taliban took over four years ago.
It is a special image for a Taliban press conference: a dozen female Indian journalists in colorful kurtas and with a scarf over their shoulders sit in the front row. Most have their hair down and their phones and microphones at the ready. This is their chance, after no female journalists were allowed in at an earlier press conference on Friday. Representatives of international media, including men, were also turned away from the embassy.
There would be an access list that was strictly enforced. It remained unclear whether this had been a demand from the Taliban delegation. In any case, a major media uproar ensued: The Indian Council of Editors-in-Chief called on the Indian government to “publicly confirm that gender equality is respected during diplomatic events for press access.” In an angry message on social media, politician Mahua Moitra criticized male journalists who did go: “Why did they remain so characterless in the room?”
Barrage of questions
It was the first question Muttaqi had to answer. Why weren’t women allowed to come last time? Muttaqi denied that they were not welcome. “The previous press conference was organized in a short period of time,” he said. There followed a barrage of questions, mostly from female journalists, about the position of women in Afghanistan, their lack of access to education and medical aid. The foreign minister repeated the official line: “We are not against education, not even for women or girls. We have never had that haram, prohibited, declared. Education has been postponed until further notice.”
Journalists had to push even harder to get the foreign minister to respond to another urgent issue: the nightly violence between Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to the Taliban, 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the border area. Pakistan, in turn, claims to have killed dozens of Afghans. The border between the two countries was closed on Sunday.
Tensions between the two countries have increased in recent months, partly because Pakistan accuses the Taliban of harboring extremists of the Pakistan Taliban (TTP) who are carrying out attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad has been trying to combat that organization all this year and is also said to be carrying out operations on hideouts in Afghanistan.
Muttaqi denied to journalists in New Delhi that the TTP fighters are supported or receive money in Afghanistan. He reiterated the Afghan Defense Ministry’s statement that Afghan forces carried out “retaliatory operations” after the violation of their own airspace, and that this “achieved our objective.” His government is said to have responded to requests from neighboring countries to stop the escalation afterwards.
Afghanistan and India seek each other out
The outbreak of violence shows why Muttaqi’s visit to India was salient in advance. Not since the takeover in 2021 has an official of his stature visited India – and now he has been there for a total of eight days. The extensive program shows how strongly India wants to strengthen ties with Afghanistan.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar announced on Friday that the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul will be reopened – which was closed four years ago. There is talk of resuming trade and development work. There will be more flights between India and Afghanistan.
If India succeeds in working more closely with Afghanistan in this way, geographical cooperation with other countries in Central Asia and Iran is also within reach. This is also a strategy for New Delhi to better compete with its own rival Pakistan in the region.
Security for India
It marks a change in the Taliban’s foreign focus. When they took over four years ago, it seemed obvious that they would work together with Pakistan. Immediately in 2021, Pakistani officials and Taliban members met. In the two previous decades, India had advocated developments in Afghanistan, which was not under Taliban rule at the time. A better relationship with the Taliban would be an important way for New Delhi to improve its own security in the region. It reduces the chance of Muslim terror turning against Delhi.
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