Ex-army officer becomes 4th Pakistani to scale Mount Everest

ISLAMABAD: Retired army officer, Col Abdul Jabbar Bhatti , has become the fourth Pakistani to scale Mount Everest on Sunday.

Pakistani mountaineers Nazir Sabir, Hasan Sadpara and Samina Baig have earlier conquered the world’s highest mountain before Bhatti.

Col (retd) Bhatti has already received the Pride of Performance and the Tamgha-e-Basalat medals from the Government of Pakistan. Before attempting to conquer Everest, he successfully scaled the 8,051-metre Broad Peak in 1985, the 8,035-metre Gasherbrum II in 1986 and the 7,027-metre Spantik Peak in 2012.

All three of them lie in the Pakistani part of the Karakoram Range.

Samina Baig made headlines in Pakistan and around the world when she reached the summit of Mount Everest on 19th May 2013.

Hundreds of climbers have been on Everest for weeks to acclimatise before making a bid for the top.

This year is particularly crowded as it is the last chance for climbers who were forced off the mountain by the devastating 2015 earthquake to use their extended permits. This has rasied concerns about dangerous traffic jams on the mountain.

Mountaineering is a major revenue earner for impoverished Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 metres.

‘Record-breaking ascent’

An Indian climber on Sunday reached the summit of Mount Everest for the second time in less than a week, her expedition team said, setting a women’s record for a double ascent of the world’s highest mountain in a single season.

Anshu Jamsenpa, 37, returned from the 8,848-metre (29,028-feet) peak on May 16, before turning around after a short rest to repeat the feat.

“Anshu reached the summit of Everest at 8:00 am Sunday for the second time this season, setting a new record,” said Dawa Lama of Dream Himalaya Adventures.

The current female record, certified by Guinness World Records, is held by Nepali climber Chhurim Sherpa, who in 2012 became the first woman to scale the peak twice in a season.

Jamsenpa has climbed Mount Everest five times.

She intended to make the summit in 2014 but the climbing season was cancelled after an avalanche killed 16 Nepali guides.