Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo was on Saturday stopped from flying abroad by immigration authorities at the Delhi airport who cited restrictions imposed on her by the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Officials in the J&K Police confirmed that Mattoo had been placed on a no-fly list.
Mattoo was on her way to Paris to attend a book launch event and participate in a photography exhibition when she was stopped by immigration authorities at the Delhi airport.
She told PTI, "Whatever happened today was totally unexpected."
Mattoo said in a tweet she was not given any reason for as she was stopped from flying abroad despite procuring a French visa.
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Earlier some Kashmir journalists, activists and academicians were stopped at the airport.
Mattoo was awarded the Pulitzer prize in May along with Adnan Abidi, Amit Dave, and the late Danish Siddiqui of Reuters for their coverage of Covid-19 pandemic in India.
Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union minister P Chidambaram, was among those who reacted on social media. "Indiscriminate use of LOC (lookout circular). A tool to harass all critics of this regime," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
