Kashmir journalist Akash Hassan, put on the ‘no fly list’ by J&K Police, was to fly to Sri Lanka on Wednesday when his boarding pass was cancelled and he was offloaded from the aircraft.

Srinagar, July 27, 2022:  Kashmir journalist Akash Hassan, put on the ‘no fly list’ by J&K Police, was to fly to Sri Lanka on Wednesday when his boarding pass was cancelled and he was offloaded from the aircraft.

Hasan belongs to south Kashmir Anantnag district and is the second local journalist restricted from travelling abroad.

Photojournalist Sanna Irshad was stopped from travelling to Paris on July 2 where she wanted to go to attend a photography exhibition. She has won the Pulitzer for her work as a photojournalist.

Hassan, who has done his PG from Turkey, told reporters that he was going to Sri Lanka to report the present crisis in that country for the Guardian newspaper.

He said he was questioned for four hours and afterwards, given his boarding pass with a red rejection stamp.

The ‘no fly list’ prepared by J&K Police, according to sources, contains names of journalists, writers, academicians etc from Kashmir whose travel abroad is deemed to be against the country’s interest.