Rafiq Maqbool, 28, woking for Associated Press (AP), specializes in documenting regions of conflict and areas under strife. A native of Kashmir, India, he has covered the disputed land since 1996.

He has also covered topics for AP such as:

• the Bangladesh flood of 2004,
• the conflict in Afghanistan and
• the Tsunami-affected region of Sri Lanka in 2005.

He has been severely wounded while covering the conflict in Kashmir and has miraculously escaped numerous times. Maqbool also covers daily life in his home region. He has completed a course in London on Hostile Environment and First Aid Training, and is adept at working and transmitting in remote areas.

In 2000, he won the prestigious Robert Capa Gold Medal Award (Honorable Mention) for a picture of a dying man resulting from a car bomb in Srinagar.