Govt says Cathal McNaughton violated visa rules. (Photo Source: Indian Express)

Cathal McNaughton, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, has been denied return to India for alleged violation of visa conditions. Cathal is presently working as Chief Photographer with global news agency Reuters at its Delhi office. McNaughton and his colleagues were awarded the Pulitzer Prize in May 2018 for their photographs that exposed the world to the violence Rohingya refugees faced in fleeing Myanmar.

According to the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, McNaughton violated visa conditions by traveling to restricted and protected areas in Jammu and Kashmir without permission. As per The Indian Express, when McNaughton was sent back from Delhi airport, he was returning from an overseas trip and he had a valid visa to enter India.

McNaughton’s Instagram posts show that he was in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2018, and had covered protests following the rape and murder of a minor in Kathua. In a photograph of stone pelters, he wrote: “A protestor throws rubble at Indian police during a protest against the killing in Kashmir on April 13, 2018.”

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He also posted pictures taken at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar. In another Instagram message of December 26, McNaughton wrote that 2018 has been interesting, “from winning the Pulitzer to being denied entry back into India”.

Cathal’s Instagram timeline reveals that he was in Delhi and posted pictures taken on May 24, 2018. He also posted a snapshot of his Instagram page on May 31, 2018, which shows that he attended the Pulitzer ceremony in New York held on May 30, 2018.

Home ministry officials alleged that McNaughton had visited restricted areas in Jammu and Kashmir but also reported from the region without valid permission. As per a government official, McNaughton was not charged with violation of visa rules but was denied entry. An MHA official also added that foreign correspondents require prior Home Ministry approval to film in restricted and protected areas such as defense installations, border districts and other places of strategic importance, wildlife sanctuaries, and national parks.

After Cathal was denied re-entry, MEA and MHA held discussions to review protocols on foreign journalists. In May 2018, the MEA reminded foreign journalists based in India that they require permission to travel to areas protected under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958. The list includes all of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and parts of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.