ISLAMABAD: A team of Pakistani climbers, led by Naila Kiani, this week recovered the body of a Pakistani porter from K2 bottleneck, a leading Pakistani mountaineering club said on Saturday, a year after his tragic death that grabbed international headlines.
On July 27, 2023, a disturbing drone footage went viral on social media, showing Norwegian climber Kristin Harila and her Nepali guide Tenjin Sherpa walk past injured Hassan Shigri on K2, the world’s second highest peak, instead of stopping and helping him.
Harila and her guide were on their way to become the world’s fastest climbers by scaling all the 14 highest peaks above 8,000 meters in 92 days. The footage was taken by two other climbers, Austrian Wilhelm Steindl and Philip Flaemig from Germany, whose ascent had been canceled that day owing to bad weather.
The disturbing footage showed the climbers stepping over the body of Shigri, who later died during Harila’s ascent. The 38-year-old Norwegian climber later rejected the accusation of deliberately ignoring Shigri and contended she and her team “did everything we could for him at the time.”
Kiani, a UAE-based Pakistani climber, led a mission to recover Shigri’s body with the help of a team of high-altitude climbers on an emotional appeal made by the family of the late Pakistani porter.
“A historic milestone has been achieved. A team of dedicated high-altitude porters (HAPs) successfully retrieved the body of Muhammad Hassan Shigri from the Bottleneck of K2 at an incredible 8,200 meters, safely reaching advance basecamp,” the Alpine Club of Pakistan, which arranges expeditions on various Pakistani peaks, said in a statement.
“This unprecedented rescue, the first of its kind on K2 from such a high altitude, concluded on 31st July at approximately 6:30 pm.”
Kiani utilized her ongoing clean-up project at K2 to swiftly organize the humanitarian mission and the team executed the critical operation by using existing infrastructure and a favorable weather window.
Kiani, the first Pakistani woman and the third Pakistani overall to climb 11 of the world’s 14 highest peaks above 8,000 meters, is part of the Climb2Change initiative by Mashreq, a leading financial institution in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which aims to clean up 14 of the world’s mightiest mountains, reaching seven peaks and base camps of the remaining seven mountains.
Members of the team that retrieved Shigri’s body included Dilawar Sadpara, Akbar Hussein Sadpara, Zakir Hussein Sadpara, Mohammed Murad Sadpara and Ali Mohammed Sadpara.
Shigri’s tragic death highlighted an urgent need for better training, equipment and ethical standards in mountaineering. The mission not only aimed to provide a dignified burial to Shigri but also showcased exceptional skills and dedication of Pakistani high-altitude climbers, underscoring the need for improved mountaineering education and safety protocols.
After being brought to the advance base camp on July 31, Shigri’s body was airlifted by a Pakistan Army chopper to Dassu, close to his village of Tissar in the Shigar district of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region and handed over to his family on Thursday.
“I extend my heartfelt appreciation to Naila Kiani and her incredible team of mountaineers. Their bravery, dedication, and humanitarian spirit in the face of extreme challenges embody the true essence of mountaineering,” Karrar Haidri, secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said in a statement.
“This historic rescue mission on the 70th anniversary of K2’s first ascent not only honors the memory of Muhammad Hassan Shigri but also sets a new standard for ethical and responsible climbing. We are immensely proud of their achievements and commitment to improving mountaineering standards in Pakistan.”
K2 was first summited on July 31, 1954 by Italian climbers Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. The expedition was led by Ardito Desio and included Pakistani army colonel Muhammad Ataullah, Hunza porter Amir Mehdi and prominent climber Walter Bonatti.
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.
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.
Pakistani climbers retrieve body of porter from K2 bottleneck after a year
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Pakistani climbers retrieve body of porter from K2 bottleneck after a year
- In July 2023, a disturbing footage showed Norwegian climber Kristin Harila and her Nepali guide walking past injured Hassan Shigri on K2
- The disturbing footage, which made global headlines, showed the climbers stepping over the body of Shigri, who later died during her ascent
Afghanistan says to begin work on $10 billion gas pipeline through Pakistan, India, Turkmenistan
- Work on the TAPI pipeline has repeatedly been delayed due to security issues in conflict-ravaged Afghanistan
- Afghan officials Wednesday joined dignitaries in Turkmenistan to celebrate pipeline’s completion on that side of border
Afghanistan said Wednesday work would begin on a $10 billion gas pipeline traversing South Asia as officials joined dignitaries in neighboring Turkmenistan to celebrate its completion on that side of the border.
Progress on the TAPI pipeline — running through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India — has been repeatedly delayed because of security issues in conflict-ravaged Afghanistan.
“From today the operations will start on Afghanistan’s soil,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at the ceremony in comments broadcast by Afghan state television.
At the border ceremony in Islim Cheshma in Turkmenistan, officials on both sides, including Afghan Prime Minister Hassan Akhund, hailed the project.
“This project will benefit not only the economies of the countries participating but also the countries of the whole region,” Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow said in a video broadcast live at the ceremony.
In the Afghan border province of Herat, a public holiday was declared to mark the occasion, with posters celebrating the project plastered around the capital of the same name.
The pipeline will see around 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas each year extracted from the Galkynysh gas field in southeast Turkmenistan.
It will be pumped through a 1,800-kilometer (1,120-mile) pipeline traversing Afghanistan, including Herat and Kandahar in the south, before crossing into restive Balochistan province in Pakistan and ending in Fazilka in Indian Punjab.
Pakistan and India will each purchase 42 percent of the gas deliveries, and Afghanistan 16 percent, while Kabul will also benefit from lucrative transit fees of around $500 million per year, according to Afghan media.
Work on the Turkmen side began in 2015 and was initially scheduled to start in Afghanistan in 2018, but has been repeatedly delayed.
India’s commitment to the pipeline has also previously been questioned over its relationship with Pakistan and its already easy access to liquefied natural gas markets.
- Jobs and cheap gas -
The ceremony was an opportunity to simultaneously launch various bilateral projects, including a fiber-optic line to Herat, an electricity line, and the inauguration of a railway bridge.
In a country plagued by unemployment, TAPI “will provide jobs for 12,000 people in Afghanistan,” the government spokesman Mujahid told AFP.
Neither Afghan nor Turkmen officials have provided details on the financing or the expected date for TAPI to come online.
However, Swapnil Babele, an analyst with the research group Rystad Energy, expects further delays “as a lot of work remains to be done and the question of future financing is unclear.”
“We expect it to be operational only in the next decade,” he told AFP.
For the three recipient countries, the pipeline will have the advantage of “delivering gas cheaper than liquefied natural gas and ensuring consistent supply.”
It is the most significant development project for Taliban authorities since they seized power in 2021, ending their two decade-long insurgency against the foreign-backed government.
The pipeline gives the government, which is not officially recognized by any nation, a strategic role in regional cooperation between Central Asia and South Asia, which is facing huge energy deficits.
Afghanistan, although still under economic and financial sanctions from the West, is currently trying to relaunch ambitious projects, particularly in energy, mines and infrastructure.
At the end of July, Afghanistan and China officially relaunched a major copper-extraction project in the world’s second-largest known deposit, near Kabul, which had been bogged down since 2008.
Saudi naval delegation discusses maritime security with Pakistani task force commander in Bahrain
- Pakistan assumed command of the multinational Combined Task Force 150 earlier this year in July
- The task force is to counter smuggling, narcotics trafficking and ensure the region’s maritime security
ISLAMABAD: A delegation of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) on Wednesday met with Pakistan’s Commodore Asim Sohail Malik, who is currently commanding the Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) in Bahrain, to explore potential avenues for collaboration and discuss the region’s maritime security.
CTF 150 is part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a multinational naval partnership aimed at ensuring the security in critical regions like the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.
CTF 150’s mission is to counter illicit activities at sea, including smuggling, trafficking of narcotics and other non-state actor threats, to promote stability and security in these vital international waters.
Pakistan assumed command of this task in July for the 13th time, with the country’s naval officials pointing out its frequent leadership of CTF 150 highlighted the trust placed in it by other coalition partners.
“During the meeting, both [sides] shared their perspectives on regional maritime security challenges and explored potential avenues for collaboration between CTF 150 and the upcoming RSNF Maritime Component Command to maintain security and stability in the region,” an official statement circulated by the naval headquarters in Islamabad said.
“Discussions focused on CTF 150’s ongoing operations aimed at disrupting illicit activities in the Arabian Sea and ensuring maritime security in the region,” it added.
The statement said Pakistani official and Saudi Arabia’s Commodore Othman Oqab Al Zahrani also reaffirmed the excellent relationship between the naval forces of their countries, emphasizing the necessity of working together to ensure greater maritime security.
The RSNF delegation also engaged with the entire Pakistan Navy team currently leading CTF 150 and exchanged views on viable options to counter contemporary maritime security challenges.
Commodore Malik assured the Saudi delegation that his team would continue to strengthen the efforts of the multinational task force to ensure robust security in the maritime domain of its responsibility. He also assured the visiting delegation Pakistan Navy’s commitment to working with other coalition navies.
Pakistan PM promises to promote football after street team’s stellar Norway performance
- Pakistan’s street child football team is primarily composed of underprivileged children with limited resources
- Shehbaz Sharif says a comprehensive plan for the development of football in Pakistan will soon be implemented
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Pakistan’s street child football team on Wednesday, which recently delivered an outstanding performance at a tournament in Norway, and promised to do everything possible to promote the sport in the country.
Football enjoys a significant fanbase in Pakistan, but it has often been overshadowed by the nation’s obsession with cricket. Efforts to uplift the national football team are gaining momentum, however, with its players facing veteran teams from Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Pakistani street child football team also displayed a stellar performance in the Norway Cup 2024, advancing to the semifinals after remaining undefeated in its group stage matches.
“The players of the Pakistani street child football team are making the country proud worldwide,” the prime minister was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office after the meeting. “Your outstanding performance proves that Pakistani youth can exhibit their talents globally if they have the opportunity.”
“We will take every possible step for the development of football in Pakistan,” he added. “A comprehensive plan for the development of football in the country will soon be implemented.”
Pakistan’s street child football team is primarily composed of underprivileged children who have very limited resources.
These children come from marginalized backgrounds and face significant challenges, including lack of access to proper education, training facilities and basic necessities.
The team is promoted and supported by Muslim Hands, a UK-based non-profit organization that focuses on humanitarian aid, education, and poverty alleviation.
The prime minister also praised Muslim Hands for its initiative and assured the team of his government’s full support.
He also directed the relevant authorities to fully restore departmental sports on a priority basis and to submit a report.
Suspected militant attacks leave two dead, five injured in western Pakistan
- The first attack targeted a vaccination team in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing a polio worker and a policeman
- Five people were also injured in Balochistan province in a grenade attack outside a state-owned bank in Turbat
PESHAWAR/QUETTA: Two suspected militant attacks in Pakistan’s volatile western provinces on Wednesday resulted in the killing of a polio worker and an accompanying policeman by unidentified gunmen, while five others were injured in a grenade explosion.
Pakistan has experienced a surge in militant violence, particularly in the restive provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, where the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch separatist insurgents have frequently launched attacks against civilians and security forces.
Amid this rise in violence, Pakistan has intensified its nationwide polio vaccination campaign after 17 cases of the disease were reported this year.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, TTP militants have previously targeted polio vaccination teams in KP, and Baloch separatists have used hand grenades in past assaults.
“The attack on the polio vaccination team happened at 12 PM in the Malasaid area of Salarzai tehsil in Bajaur district,” Muhammad Israr, a police spokesperson in the area, told Arab News. “One polio worker and a policeman were killed when they were going from door to door to administer vaccine to children.”
This was the second attack on a polio team in KP within the last two days. On September 9, a police vehicle escorting vaccination workers was targeted by an improvised explosive device in South Waziristan district, injuring at least 13 people.
Prior to that, in July, two policemen protecting polio vaccination teams were injured in separate incidents by unknown militants in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts in northwest Pakistan.
Similarly, in January, five policemen were killed and 22 others injured in a blast targeting a polio team in the Mamund region of Bajaur district.
Israr said the police were continuing their investigation into the latest attack, adding the funeral prayers for the policeman killed today had been offered at the Khar Police Station.
GRENADE ATTACK
Meanwhile, at least five people were injured in Balochistan’s Turbat district after unidentified men attacked civilians standing outside a bank with a hand grenade.
The province has long grappled with a separatist insurgency, with Baloch militants accusing the central government of exploiting its mineral and gas resources. The Pakistani state denies these allegations, asserting it is working to uplift the region through development initiatives.
Last month, the Baloch Liberation Army, a militant armed faction, launched coordinated attacks in different parts of the province, resulting in over 50 deaths.
The Station House Officer in Turbat, Muhammad Hussain Baloch, told Arab News that the latest grenade attack occurred in front of the state-run National Bank of Pakistan.
“Five people were injured in the attack,” he said. “The police have initiated an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack.”
“When the attack occurred, there was no movement of security forces in the area. Only civilians standing outside the bank were injured,” he added.
Pakistan confirms fifth case of mpox virus
- Patient hails from Lower Dir in northwest Pakistan and has history of traveling to Gulf countries
- Health authorities had earlier declared Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province mpox free on September 8
KARACHI: Pakistani health authorities confirmed a fifth case of the mpox virus in the country on Wednesday, identifying the patient as a resident of the northwestern district of Lower Dir who had been isolated at home after displaying symptoms of the disease and testing positively for it.
The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency over the spread of a new mutated strain of mpox named clade I, which first emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has since spread to several countries, leading to increased monitoring and preventive measures worldwide.
Since it confirmed its first mpox case last month, Pakistan has implemented stringent screening protocols at all airports and border entry points.
“The fifth case of mpox reported in Pakistan,” the health ministry spokesperson in a statement said on Wednesday. “The citizen belongs to Lower Dir and has travel history from Gulf countries.”
The statement said the patient was referred for testing by the health department of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province based on symptoms he displayed during screening at the airport. He was now isolating at home, the ministry said.
Dr. Mukhtar Bhart, the Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Health, said the federal ministry of health was working closely with provincial authorities to monitor new cases.
Patients who contract mpox get flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Mpox is usually mild but can kill, and children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications from the infection.
Earlier this week, health authorities had declared Pakistan’s KP province mpox-free after all four patients previously infected with the virus recovered.
