Gilgit Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan on Tuesday announced that Rs3 million will be paid to the widow of mountaineer Mohammad Ali Sadpara, who was last week declared dead after he went missing on the K2 mountain.
Additionally, he said that mountaineer Sajid Ali Sadpara — the son of Mohammad — will be trained according to international standards, after which he will be able to provide training to aspiring climbers in the Mohammad Ali Sadpara Institute for Adventure Sports, Mountaineering and Rock Climbing, an institute which would be formed to honour the latter.
During a cabinet meeting, CM Khan paid tribute to Mohammad and said that the mountaineer had “earned recognition for Pakistan across the globe”. He noted that the mountaineer chose the profession despite limited resources and dangers, adding that Mohammad’s “services will always be remembered”. He also paid tribute to all those “unsung heroes” who made GB proud with their achievements despite limited resources.
CM Khan also announced that policies will be formulated to promote the sport of mountain climbing and for the protection and assistance of mountaineers so that they can be provided better resources and training.
The cabinet also agreed to nominate Mohammad for the civil award. A cabinet committee comprising Finance Minister Javed Ali Manwa, Law Adviser Sohail Abbas and Adviser to GB Food Department Shams Lone will pay a visit to Mohammad’s family and extend their condolences. CM Khan, himself, will also visit the mountaineer’s house and extend his condolences to the family.
After days of searching, Mohammad, John Snorri from Iceland and JP Mohr from Chile were declared dead on February 18. The three climbers were last seen on February 5 near the Bottleneck on K2 as they attempted to reach the summit of the Savage Mountain. Sajid Sadpara, who was accompanying the three, had to abandon his summit bid after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned and he returned to Camp 3.
Bad weather thwarted multiple attempts to search for the missing climbers, though the efforts continued for several days after the trio went missing.