To mark International Press Freedom Day on May 3, the Herald focuses on certain trouble spots in South Asia – Pakistan, Afghanistan and India – looking at the lives and works of photojournalists documenting conflict in the region, defying the odds as they deal with terrifying moments.

They share similarities of vision, ethos and method but operating in diverse regions, there are marked differences that emerge as well. In Pakistan as the religious right warms up to photojournalists recording rallies and protest demonstrations splashed in the media, others recall psychological scars inflicted by the Taliban on people in areas where they wielded control. In India with a highly nationalist media, reporting what happens on the ground in conflict zones, especially Kashmir, offend not only one’s contemporaries but also the powerful security and state institutions leading to constraints. In Afghanistan, as the nation rebuilds itself at snail’s pace and the media tests the limits of its newfound freedom, death and tragedy are part of everyday life for a photojournalist. – Text by Nadia Jajja/Herald

The pictures and accompanying text are taken from ‘One frame at a time’, a photo feature that appeared  in May 2011 issue of the Herald magazine.