Pakistani singer to build school in Sadpara’s village to honour missing climber

Islamabad: Pakistani singer-cum-philanthropist Abrar ul Haq has announced to build a school in the village of Mohammad Ali Sadpara, the celebrated Pakistani climber who went missing on the world’s second highest mountain, K2. Sadpara and two other climbers, Juan Pablo Mohr and John Snorri, were last seen on February 5 near the bottleneck area of K2 at around 8,300 metres.

“I have just heard the news that Muhammad Ali Sadpara wanted to build a school in his village after his mission, therefore, we have decided to fulfil his dream and Inshahallah a school will be built in the village of our hero in his memory,” Abrar ul Haq said on Twitter. Many Pakistanis appreciated the initiative and also extended support to build a school in the Sadpara village near Skardu in the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

Who is Sadpara?

Mohammad Ali Sadpara is hailed as a hero in his native town and described as a “daring climber and friendly person” by the local and global community of mountaineers. Sadpara, who initiated his climbing career as a high-altitude porter on the Baltoro glacier on K2 in 2004, catapulted to the limelight after the first ever winter ascent of Nanga Parbat, also known as the Killer Mountain, in 2016 with Simone Moro (Italy) and Alex Txikon (Spain). Sadpara is the only Pakistani to have climbed eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains.

Unprecedented search for 3 climbers continues

Sadpara, 45, and his fellow climbers John Snorri, 47, of Iceland, and JP Mohr, 33, of Chile, went missing 10 days ago as they pushed for a winter summit of the 8,611-metre (28,250ft) high mountain.

Despite little hope for survival, “an unprecedented search in the history of mountaineering has been ongoing,” with the support of Pakistan, Iceland and Chilean authorities, said Vanessa O’Brien, the British-American climber who has been assisting the search and rescue efforts via a virtual base camp. “If climbing the world’s second-tallest mountain in winter is hard, finding those missing is even more of a challenge,” said O’Brien.

When the harsh weather prevented helicopters from approaching K2, Pakistan Army sent an F-16 for a photographic survey of the area. The search team “scrutinised satellite images, used SAR (synthetic aperture radar) technology, scanned hundreds of pictures, plotted more points, re-read summit plans, and checked testimonials and timings” in search of a clue. Unfortunately, the leads including a sleeping bag, torn tents and sleeping pads, did not belong to the missing climbers, she said.

This year, a team of 10 Nepali climbers made history by becoming the first to summit K2 in winter. Since then, the mountain has been brutal as Bulgarian mountaineer Atanas Skatov and Spanish climber Sergi Mingote lost their lives during the recent K2 expeditions while Ali Sadpara, John Snorri, and JP Mohr disappeared without leaving a trace.