'Matter Of Coincidence': Madani Defends Absence of Women Journalists At Taliban Minister's Press Meet
Meeting Muttaqi in Saharanpur, Madani discussed India-Afghanistan ties but admitted they didn't address women's education rights.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Arshad Madani on Saturday defended the absence of women journalists at the press meet of Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi on Friday.
Speaking to reporters in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, where he met Muttaqi, Madani said that the absence of women journalists during the press meet was a "coincidence".
"...It is a matter of coincidence that there were men present; they were not restrained. They did not refuse out of respect for the women. This is wrong. This is propaganda," Madani said.
The Taliban minister visited Darul Uloom, an Islamic seminary in Deoband in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district, where he met with Madani.
The Islamic cleric spoke about the historic and cultural ties between India and Afghanistan, he said.
However, there was no discussion on the education rights of women in Afghanistan, Madani said, while responding to a question by a reporter, adding, "We would have talked about it had you reminded us."
"We did not talk about that (ban on education for women in Afghanistan)," he said.
Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh: On women journalists not present at Afghan FM Muttaqi’s press conference, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani says, "...It is a matter of coincidence that there were men present, they were not restrained. They did not refuse out of respect… pic.twitter.com/nTAN2m9Iz2
— IANS (@ians_india) October 11, 2025
India-Afghanistan Ties
Madani further said that they spoke about the shared historical and cultural ties between India and Afghanistan during the meeting.
"... I told him that our ties with you are not just academic. You contributed to the independence of India. Our forefathers chose the land for Afghanistan to fight for India's independence... For your independence, you defeated powers like America and Russia. You learnt from us how to do that when we defeated Britain... I told him (Afghan FM Amir Khan Muttaqi) that this meeting shows how the Muslims of India and the Darul Uloom Deoband have deep ties with you," said the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief.
"There should be harmony within the nations of the world, irrespective of their religion... We had no political discussion... The relations between the two nations will improve. India has had complaints that Afghanistan sent terrorists to India. Now, after this meeting, it is confirmed that no terrorists will come to India from Afghanistan...," he added.
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