Afghan FM Muttaqi cancels Agra visit amid border clashes with Pak, invites women journalists to new Delhi presser

However, officials in Agra did not specify any reason for the cancellation.

The Afghan foreign minister was to travel to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.

Muttaqi was scheduled to spend around an hour and a half at the monument before returning to Delhi.

Though unrelated, the decision came a day after intense clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan along the border, which left at least 18 Pakistani soldiers dead.

As per reports, Muttaqi has called another press conference in New Delhi on Sunday, this time inviting women journalists after facing criticism for their exclusion from his earlier media interaction.

Muttaqi, who is on a week-long visit to India, had addressed a press briefing on Friday that drew widespread criticism when women journalists were “not invited”.

The move was condemned as “discriminatory” by several journalist bodies, including the Editors Guild of India and the Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC).

He arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a six-day trip — the first visit to India by a senior Taliban minister since the group took control of Afghanistan four years ago. India, however, has not recognised the Taliban government.

On Saturday, Muttaqi received a warm welcome during his visit to the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, amid ongoing criticism over his earlier exclusion of women journalists.

Muttaqi’s India visit comes at a time when both India and Afghanistan share strained ties with Pakistan over multiple issues, including cross-border terrorism.