Pakistani expedition of two members, Sirbaz Khan and Abdul Joshi has left for Nepal from Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) on Thursday to scale Annapurna (8091 metres) peak.
Team leader Sirbaz Khan and member Abdul Joshi from Hunza district of GB with two supporting members Kamran Ali and Saad Munawar, departed from Islamabad airport to Kathmandu, Nepal.
The mountaineers have dedicated this adventurous journey to late Pakistani high-altitude mountaineer Mohammad Ali Sadpara, who lost his life on K2 this year in February.
The team leader said that this Annapurna expedition is representing the underprivileged mountaineering community of Pakistan. They had dedicated this expedition to Mohammad Ali Sadpara, he further added.
Sirbaz said, “For the last few years, we had been working together with Ali Bhai for the welfare of Pakistani mountaineering community. He might not be physically present anymore, but in my heart, he is always going to be alive…singing, laughing and dancing.”
He requested for prayers for a successful summit and admired the efforts of the sponsors to promote mountaineering in Pakistan. The team had earlier started fundraising for the adventure.
According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, both the mountaineers were called on federal minister for inter-provincial coordination, Dr. Fehmida Mirza in Islamabad on Wednesday.
“Government is taking all possible measures to promote sports at grassroots level to nurture young talent who can bring glory to the name of Pakistan and promote its good image globally,” said Dr. Fahmida.
She also presented Pakistani flag to Sirbaz Khan to hoist it at the Annapurna peak.
Annapurna is one the deadliest, most fatal mountains of the world, with around a 40% fatality rate due to its sharp ridges and crevasses, which is the highest in the world, with a death to survival ratio of 3:1 worse than that of K2 and Mount Everest.
