Afghanistan Foreign Minister Muttaqi curtails visit to Darul Uloom Deoband

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who was visiting Deoband on Saturday, cut short his visit and returned to Delhi amid the controversy over the denial of access to women journalists.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

His speech at the Darul Uloom Deoband, one of South Asia's most influential seminaries, was cancelled and he left two and a half hours earlier than scheduled.

Like in Delhi, where women journalists were not invited to his press conference at the Afghan embassy yesterday, a controversy emerged in Darul Uloom here too, when women journalists who arrived here to cover the event were allegedly placed under restrictions. The seminary, however, has denied that there were any such restrictions.

Mr Muttaqi was supposed to stay until 5 p.m, but left at 2:30 p.m.

Earlier, Mr Muttaqi was welcomed with a shower of flowers in Deoband. Students then rushed to meet him.

The crowd was so large that security cordons were breached and police had to push the students away.