Mountaineers Mohammad Abdul Joshi and Sirbaz Khan have become the first Pakistanis to climb Mt Annapurna in Nepal, the world’s tenth highest mountain.
The four-member team left for Nepal to attempt Annapurna (8,091 metres) last month. Apart from the mountaineers, the team included manager Saad Munawar and photographer Kamran Ali of ‘Kamran On Bike’ fame.
Sirbaz Khan is from Aliabad Hunza in Gilgit-Baltistan, and Mohammad Abdul Joshi is from Shimshal Hunza. They started the expedition in the second week of March and arrived at base camp on March 23. At the summit, they raised the Pakistani flag.
In a social media post, Munawwar, the expedition manager, wrote: “GREEN FLAG RAISED AT THE SUMMIT. With the grace of ALLAH SWT, Pakistani climbers Sirbaz Khan and Abdul Joshi summited Mt Annapuma at 1:30 pm on 16th April 2021. Communicating via radio sets, both climbers thanked the nation and asked for prayers for safe return.”
Also Read: Arslan ‘Ash’, a Pakistani gamer, has won the world Tekken 7 competition
He said that the success of the two climbers was shared by the entire Pakistani mountaineering community. “The time has come for our unsung heroes to be recognized, respected, and appreciated.”
View this post on Instagram
He ended his post with a heartfelt tribute to mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who went missing on Mount K2 and was declared dead after a frantic rescue operation. “This summit is dedicated to our big brother, Muhammad Ali Sadpara, the greatest mountaineer Pakistan has ever produced.”
Sirbaz Khan, 33, has scaled five 8,000-meter peaks, including K2, Nanga Parbat, Wide Peak in Pakistan, and Manaslu and Lhotse in Nepal. He has stated that he intends to ascend 14 peaks higher than 8,000 meters.
