ISLAMABAD: A four-member Pakistani expedition from Gilgit-Baltistan has left for Nepal to scale Annapurna peak.
The exhibition comprises climbers Sirbaz Khan and Abdul Joshi along with expedition manager Saad Munawar and filmmaker Kamran Ali. The team departed from Islamabad airport to Kathmandu on Thursday.
The expedition has dedicated this adventure to late mountaineer Mohammad Ali Sadpara who lost his life on K2 earlier this year.
Sirbaz Khan said the expedition represented the mountaineering community of Pakistan. He said they have been working for the welfare of the mountaineering community for the past few years.
Sirbaz Khan requested for prayers for a successful summit. He thanked his sponsors for their support for the promotion of mountaineering in Pakistan.
The first ever #Pakistani expedition to Mt #Annapurna has left for #Nepal today.
The team comprises of #SirbazKhan and #AbdulJoshi as climbers, #KamranOnBike as the expedition photographer and #SaadMunawar as the Expedition Manager. pic.twitter.com/1pP76fQrJd
— The Karakoram Club (@KarakoramClub) March 18, 2021
Earlier, Sirbaz Khan and Abdul Joshi called on federal minister for inter-provincial coordination Dr Fehmida Mirza in Islamabad.
On this occasion, the minister presented the Pakistani flag to Sirbaz Khan to hoist at the Annapurna peak. She wished the young mountaineers good luck on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan.
She said the government was taking all possible measures to promote sports at grassroots level to nurture young talent who could bring glory to the name of Pakistan and promote its good image globally.
Sirbaz appreciated this gesture of presenting Pakistani flag and said that it will be a source of encouragement not only for him and his team but also for other emerging climbers.
He has limbed five peaks above 8,000 metres and that he has a mission to climb all fourteen peaks. Mount Annapurna is the tenth highest mountain in the world at 8,091 metres (26,545 ft) above sea level.
