SKARDU: The family of missing Pakistani mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara has declared him and two other missing foreign climbers dead today (Thursday).
“I will keep my father’s mission alive and fulfill his dream,” Ali Sadpara’s son, Sajid Sadpara said while addressing a press conference along with Gilgit Baltistan Tourism Minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan.
He also thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the courageous pilots of the Askari Aviation for conducting a thorough search operation amid the harsh weather for his father.
Taking over the presser, the tourism minister said that the GB government has recommended civil awards for Sadpara and his son. “A financial package for the family would also be announced along with scholarships for his children,” he added.
The recommendations also included the renaming of Skardu Airport as Muhammad Ali Sadpara Airport. A mountaineering school in Shigar will be named after Sadpara.
Meanwhile, President of Pakistan Arif Alvi has also expressed condolences to Muhammad Ali Sadpara’s family as well as the families of the other climbers. In a tweet, he paid tribute to Sadpara, saying “he battled nature with strength, fortitude and heroism.”
I express my condolences to Ali Sadpara’s family. May Allah grant this brave man eternal place in Jannah. He battled nature with strength, fortitude and heroism. Condolences to the families & citizens, of Iceland’s John Snorri Sigurjónsson & Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto.
— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) February 18, 2021
Ali Sadpara, Iceland’s John Snorri and Chile’s Juan Pablo had departed for their journey on February 3. The three climbers were last seen on Feb 5 near the Bottleneck on K2 as they attempted to reach the summit of the Savage Mountain.
Sajid Sadpara, who was accompanying the three, had to abandon his summit bid after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned and he returned to camp 3. Bad weather thwarted multiple attempts to search for the missing climbers.
Sadpara’s management, which operates his official Twitter account, on Monday announced that a meeting of the apex committee regarding the missing climbers’ search and rescue (SAR) operation will be held on Feb 17, 2021, in Gilgit.
