India, Oct. 12 -- Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday sought to downplay the controversy surrounding the absence of female journalists from his earlier press conference in New Delhi, describing it as a "technical issue."

"Regarding the press conference, it was organised on short notice. There was a short list of journalists who were invited. It was more of a technical issue, nothing else. Our colleagues had decided to send invitations to a specific list of journalists; there were no other intentions behind that," Muttaqi said at a second press briefing held two days after the first event at the Afghanistan Embassy triggered a political storm.

The controversy erupted on Friday after NDTV reported that no female jou...