ISLAMABAD: A month after scaling the Mount Everest, Pakistan’s mountaineer Sirbaz Khan, 32, is now determined to conquer another world famous peak, Gasherbrum, situated at the northeastern end of the Baltoro Glacier in the Karakoram mountain range.
Sirbaz Khan who was in Islamabad to attend a reception hosted in his honour by a 5-star hotel, said he was ascending the peaks as part of “Mission 14” — his quest to become the first Pakistani to scale all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres around the world.
Hailing from Hunza, Giglit Baltistan, Sirbaz Khan, said scaling the Mount Everest was a dream come true for him as he hoisted the Pakistan’s flag on the world’s tallest peak on May 12.
Sirbaz worked for almost 11 years in a kitchen and later as a porter to tourists and mountaineers. Finally, he thought he was not meant to be a porter or a cook.
Mount Everest was my fourth consecutive success after K2 (8,611m), Nanga Parbat (8,126m) and Mount Lhotse (8,516m), Sirbaz said at the reception.
First Pakistani mountaineer to scale Mt Annapurna
Incidentally, he achieved the milestone a day after Pakistan’s youngest hiker Shehroze Kashif reached the summit. But Sirbaz Khan added another feather in his cap by becoming the first Pakistani climber to have ascended the Mt Annapurna, the 10th highest peak in the world, also in Nepal.
“I owe my success to the whole team including the high and low altitude porters, cooks, helpers and everyone from mountaineering community,” said Sirbaz, as he thanked Serena Hotels and other sponsors for their support.
He dedicated his mission to the memory of his mentor and companion Mohammad Ali Sadpara, who went missing and later declared dead during a winter expedition of K2 in February this year.
CEO of the hotel Aziz Boolani while congratulating Sirbaz reiterated the resolve that his hotel would continue to support the Pakistani talent.
This feat is a source of pride for Pakistan. Pakistani mountaineers and sportspeople have tremendous potential, however, in order to achieve their ambitions they need a supportive environment for which we all must play our role,” said Aziz Boolani.
Ambassadors of Indonesia, Norway, Canada, Poland, Morocco, Belgium and other countries were present.
