KHAPLU: A two-member team of climbers from Gilgit-Baltistan became the first from Pakistan to summit the world's 10th tallest peak on Friday along with more than a dozen mountaineers from Nepal, China and the United States.
More than 8,000 meters high, Mount Annapurna in Nepal is widely considered to be a tough climb and has claimed over 60 lives of those striving to make an ascent.
The Pakistani climbers, Sirbaz Khan and Abdul Joshi, belong to Hunza district and were accompanied by two other supporting members, Kamran Ali and Saad Munawar, from Gilgit-Baltistan.
In a social media post, Munawar announced that Khan and Joshi had reached the top of the mountain "at 1:30 pm on 16th April 2021."
"This is Pakistan's first ever summit of Mt Annapurna," he wrote in a social media post. "This is not the success of 2 climbers only but the whole Pakistani mountaineering community. Time has come for [our] unsung heroes to get the respect, recognition, and appreciation that they deserve."
Last month, Sirbaz Khan dedicated his forthcoming expedition to Muhammad Ali Sadpara who lost his life while trying to scale the world's second tallest mountain in winter earlier this year.
"For the last few years, we had been working together with Ali bhai for the welfare of Pakistani mountaineering community," Khan wrote on his Facebook timeline while announcing the Annapurna expedition on March 7. "He might not be physically present anymore but in my heart he is always going to be alive — singing, laughing and dancing."
Seven Summit Treks Manager Thaneswar Guraga confirmed the news from Nepal over the phone.
"Two Pakistani climbers Sirbaz Khan and Abdul Joshi with other climbers have summited Mount Annapurna," he said.
"On behalf of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, its president, executive board, and members, I congratulate the climbing team of Sirbaz Khan and Abdul Joshi on the first successful Pakistani ascent of the 10th highest and most difficult peak Annapurna 8,091-M," said Alpine Club Secretary Karrar Haidri in a statement. "It is an outstanding achievement, and we all are very proud of you."
