NEW DELHI: Immigration authority at Delhi airport on Monday barred a Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo from flying to New York on Tuesday even though she carried a valid visa and ticket to the foreign city.
According to the journalist, she was to fly to receive the Pulitzer award physically which is regarded as one of the highest honours in journalism. “The award ceremony was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me,” she said. Mattoo also said that it was the second time that she was barred from travelling abroad “without reason or cause”.
“I was on my way to receive the Pulitzer award in New York but I was stopped at immigration at Delhi airport and barred from travelling internationally despite holding a valid US visa and ticket. “This is the second time I have been stopped without reason or cause. Despite reaching out to several officials after what happened a few months ago, I never received any response. Being able to attend the award ceremony was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me,” she posted on Twitter.
In July this year, the photojournalist was stopped from flying to Paris where she was expected to attend a book launch event and participate in a photography exhibition. The authorities at Indira Gandhi International Airport had cited restrictions imposed on her by the Jammu and Kashmir police. Mattoo was among the 2022 Pulitzer Prize winners in the Feature Photography category for the coverage of the Covid-19 crisis in India.