It was a proud moment for three Associated Press photojournalists on Monday as they won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for their work covering Kashmir post abrogation of article 370.

News agency Associated Press photographers Dar Yasin, Mukhtar Khan, and Channi Anand won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for their “striking images of life” in Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre abrogated the special status of the erstwhile state under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.

Congratulations to Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and @daryasin of @AP. #Pulitzer pic.twitter.com/SJzGyK3sXq

— The Pulitzer Prizes (@PulitzerPrizes) May 4, 2020

Wishes poured in from all over on social media praising the journalists for their work. Kashmiri journalist Yasin Dar took to twitter to express his gratitude as he said, “It’s an honour and a privilege beyond any we could have ever imagined.”

Thank you Colleagues, friends, brothers. I would just like to say thank you for standing by us always. It’s an honour and a privilege beyond any we could have ever imagined. It’s overwhelming to receive this honor.

— Dar Yasin (@daryasin) May 4, 2020

Srinagar-based journalist Mukhtar Khan also thanked his family and said, “I could never have imagine in my life time. it could have also been impossible without my family – both at home and AP Thank you for always sanding by us.”

Dear colleagues and friends I just want to say Thank you and that this award @PulitzerPrizes an honor for us. I could never have imagine in my life time. it could have also been impossible without my family – both at home and AP Thank you for always sanding by us.

— mukhtar khan (@muukhtark_khan) May 4, 2020

It’s been a difficult year for journalists in Kashmir & that’s saying something considering the last 30 years haven’t exactly been easy. Congratulations to @daryasin, @muukhtark_khan & @channiap on this prestigious award. More power to your cameras. https://t.co/A7SH5hUEGZ

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 5, 2020

AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said the photographers’ work was important. “This honor continues AP’s great tradition of award-winning photography,” he added. “Thanks to the team inside Kashmir, the world was able to witness a dramatic escalation of the long struggle” for what he described as “the region’s independence”.

And best gathered here: https://t.co/WmcoxQpLoa

— Jake Coyle (@jakecoyleAP) May 4, 2020

“Snaking around roadblocks, sometimes taking cover in strangers’ homes and hiding cameras in vegetable bags…then headed to an airport to persuade travellers to carry the photo files out with them and get them to the AP’s office in New Delhi,” the news agency described the hurdles of reporting in a statement.

The Pulitzer Prize is the most prestigious award in journalism, which had been postponed for two weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.