India, Oct. 12 -- More than a dozen women journalists on Sunday attended a news conference by Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who said their absence at another interaction two days ago wasn't by design.

Taliban authorities face strong criticism from India's opposition political parties and journalist bodies over the exclusion of women at Muttaqi's first news conference on Friday. He is the first senior Taliban functionary to travel to India.

The first question at Sunday's event from a foreign journalist related to the absence of women journalists at the news conference on Friday, and Muttaqi replied: "With regards to the press conference, it was organised at short notice. A small list of journalists was finalised. It was mor...