ISLAMABAD: A search operation in northern Pakistan to locate a Japanese climber, who went missing along with another one, has been called off after one body was recovered, the Pakistan Adventure Tour company said on Tuesday.
The climbers, Ryuseki Hiraoka and Atsushi Taguchi, went missing on June 10 while climbing Spantik Peak, which stands at 7,027 meters above the sea level.
On June 15, the civil administration of the Gilgit-Baltistan region in northern Pakistan confirmed one body had been found.
The search for the second climber continued with the help of a team, including two Pakistan Army helicopters, crewed by high-altitude climbers and experts.
“We tried our best and continued search for the second body but we could not see it because a lot of snow had fallen there and there were lots of crevasses there,” said local climber and member of search team, Imtiaz Sadpara, at a news conference at Deputy Commissioner’s office in Shigar.
Spantik, more popularly called the Golden Peak, is largely viewed as more accessible and straightforward. The Japanese climbers were attempting to summit it in the Karakoram Range.
Pakistan is home to five of the world’s tallest mountains that loom above 8,000 meters, including K2 and Nanga Parbat that are known for their treacherous climbs.
Last Sunday, Pakistan’s army rescued Estonian climber Saama Marie who injured her leg whilst attempting to climb the Nanga Parbat peak in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Marie last updated followers on her Facebook account on June 9 that she had camped on the slope of Ganalo at an altitude of 4,900 meters. There had been no update from her since then.
In a video shared by Pakistani state broadcaster PTV, two men were seen carrying an injured Marie to a Pakistani army helicopter from the snowcapped mountain.
“I have a leg injury and I have currently escaped by [the help of] Pakistan Army helicopter, taken from Nanga Parbat base camp to Skardu hospital,” she said.
Pakistan’s mountains attract climbers from all parts of the world. According to official figures, over 8,900 foreigners visited the remote Gilgit-Baltistan region in 2023 where the summer climbing season runs from early June till late August.
— With input from Reuters
Pakistan search for missing Japanese climbers called off after body recovered
https://arab.news/mr9u6
Pakistan search for missing Japanese climbers called off after body recovered
- The climbers, Ryuseki Hiraoka and Atsushi Taguchi, went missing on June 10 while climbing 7,027-meter Spantik Peak
- Pakistan is home to five of the world’s tallest mountains that loom above 8,000 meters, including K2 and Nanga Parbat
Pakistani stocks breach 176,000 points barrier as investors expect further rate cuts
- Pakistani financial analyst attributes surge to falling inflation, investors expecting further policy rate cuts
- Pakistan’s finance ministry said Thursday that inflation had slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December
KARACHI: Pakistani stocks continued their bullish run on Thursday, breaching the 176,000 points barrier for the first time after trading ended, with analysts attributing the surge to investors expecting further cuts in the policy rate.
The KSE-100 benchmark gained 2,301.17 points at close of business on Thursday, marking an increase of 1.32 percent to settle at 176,355.49 points.
Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent last month, breaking a four-meeting hold in a move that surprised markets. Pakistan’s consumer price inflation slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December, while prices fell on a monthly basis as per data from the finance ministry.
“Upbeat data for consumer price index (CPI) inflation at 5.6pc in December 2025 [with] investors expecting a further State Bank of Pakistan rate cuts on falling inflation data,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities Ltd., told Arab News.
The stock market witnessed a trading volume of 1,402.650 million shares, with a traded value of Rs48.424 billion ($173 million), compared with 957.239 million shares valued at Rs44.231 billion ($158 million) during the previous session.
Topline Securities, a leading brokerage firm in Pakistan, credited the surge to strong buying at the first session.
“This positivity can be accredited to buying by local institutions on the start of the new calendar year,” it said.
Pakistan’s Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad highlighted that the bullish trend at the stock market reflected “strong investor confidence.”
“With lower inflation, affordable fuel, stronger reserves, rising digitization and a buoyant capital market, Pakistan’s economic outlook is clearly improving--supporting greater confidence, better investment sentiment and more positive momentum for 2026,” he said on social media platform X.
