Pulitzer winner Sanna Irshad Mattoo barred from going to US; could these be reasons [details]

Kashmiri photojournalist, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, on Wednesday alleged that authorities at Delhi's ISI Airport did not allow her to travel abroad in order to attend the award ceremony in the US where she was to receive her Pulitzer award for the coverage of COVID pandemic.

I was on my way to receive the Pulitzer award (@Pulitzerprizes) 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," Mattoo tweeted, triggering a wave of controversy.

Sanna Irshad Mattoo, a Kashmir-based freelance photojournalist won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize award in the feature photography category for 2022. She shared the award with the Reuters team, including the late Danish Siddiqui, Amit Dave and Adnan Abidi for the coverage of COVID-19 crisis in India. But being barred from travelling to the US to receive the award has won her sympathy online and is being labelled a victim in all of this.

Could these be the reasons for Sanna's travel ban?

Sanna Irshad Mattoo's travel ban has drawn a strong backlash against the Indian government. But a quick analysis of Mattoo's social media activity shows the anti-national views of the Pulitzer Prize winner.

From showing the Indian security forces deployed in J&K in a negative light to sharing Pakistan's propagandist views on Kashmir. Her views have misled the people of Kashmir, making them fall for the fear-mongering propaganda from the PAK's side. Mattoo went as far as making a shocking reference to Kashmir as "Indian-administered" - a term used by Pakistan elements and separatists.

Mattoo was also seen propagating fear to mislead people in Kashmir and even white-washing terrorism. In 2020, she had even called to avenge the supposed oppression and high-handedness in the valley.

Mattoo's earlier tweets also showed her sympathising with Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a hardline Pro-Pak Kashmiri separatist leader who passed away in September last year. Geelani's loyalty towards Pakistan was no big secret. He was like the Bhishm (limited correlation on loyalty only), his loyalty to Pakistan was more than to the good of his people and society.

Geelani invented issues like demographic change, religion under threat, Jagmohan conspiracy etc – anything that can sustain more violence and shedding of Kashmiri blood. His famous slogan was "Hum Pakistani Hain Aur Pakistan Hamara Hai."

Mattoo had to be aware of Geelani's pro-separatist standpoint, yet she downplayed his role and used sympathetic terms such as "senior pro-freedom" leader, "ailing leader" and "important political figure."

Digging further into Mattoo's social media posts revealed her Islamist narratives and anti-Hindu rhetorics. In 2019, she shared an article that compared Hindus with the Nazis. Earlier, she agreed with a Pakistani who compared the Indian State to Kufr ka Nizam, which is a derogatory term used by Islamists.

Shockingly, Mattoo dubbed terrorist Maqbool Bhat, who was involved in killing government officials and carrying out terror activities in J&K, as "Baba-e-Quom (Father of Nation)." She further went on the allege that he was hanged in secret and executed without a fair trial by the Indian government. These allegations were baseless and had no truth to them.

Finally, Mattoo is known to take an anti-India stand on international fora. She declared herself "Kashmiri" instead of "Indian" in the 2021 Photography and Social Justice Fellows" by Magnum Foundation. Photographers Jaisingh Nageswaran and Ranita Roy were also listed alongside Mattoo, and they listed their nationality as Indian.