ISLAMABAD: Sajid Sadpara, the son of Pakistani climber Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who went missing with two other climbers while attempting a winter ascent of the K2, addressed a press conference on Thursday and announced his father’s death, saying he would keep his father’s climbing mission alive.
Pakistan’s Sadpara, Iceland’s John Snorri and Chile’s JP Mohr were last sighted on February 5, at around 10 am, at what is considered the most difficult part of the climb: the Bottleneck, a steep and narrow gully just 300 meters shy of the 8,611 meter (28,251 ft) high K2.
Addressing a joint news briefing with Gilgit-Baltistan’s tourism minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan, Sajid, who last saw his father at about 8,200 meters, said he was sure that Sadpara had completed the ascent of the K2.
“I’m quite certain along with other international climbers with significant experience that they summited the mountain before meeting an accident on their way back,” he said.
“God willing, we will all support each other in this hour of grief,” he added. “I also want to assure our nation and all those climbers who respected Ali Sadpara that I will follow in my father’s footsteps and continue his mission.”
Sajid said that his family was thankful for all the love expressed by the people of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the region’s tourism minister requested the government to present a civil award to Sadpara and his son.
He also said Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Khalid Khurshid would personally announce a financial package to support the Sadpara family.
“We will arrange scholarships for [Sadpara’s] children to help them with their education,” Khan said. “We will also request [the government] to name the Skardu airport after Muhammad Ali Sadpara and do the same with the mountaineering school in Shigar district.”
Nestled along the China-Pakistan border, K2 is the world’s second highest peak and its most deadly mountain, with immense skill required to charter its steep slopes, high winds, slick ice and ever-changing weather conditions. Of the 367 people that had completed its ascent by 2018, 86 had died. The Pakistani military is regularly called in to rescue climbers using helicopters, but the weather often makes that difficult.
Earlier in January, a team of 10 Nepali climbers made history by becoming the first to ever scale K2 in winter. Sadpara and his expedition members were making their second attempt at climbing K2 this winter in a season that had already seen three other climbers die in the area.
In a statement, the Alpine Club of Pakistan called Sadpara “our national hero.”
“Our deepest sympathies go out to Mountaineers families,” Karrar Haidri, the club’s secretary, said. “May God give them comfort and peace and may the soul of Mountaineers rest in peace.”
In a statement, Snorri’s family thanked authorities in Pakistan, Chile and Iceland “for their devotion and efforts for finding our loved ones.”
“There is no doubt in our minds that the extent of the search and the technologies used in the search were unprecedented and hopefully will improve the safety of future mountaineers around the world,” the statement said. “The Pakistani Army has been extremely supportive in these difficult times sharing resources and manpower. To the brave people of the Pakistani armed forces we say thank you for caring for Ali, John and Juan Pablo.”
“Our Icelandic hearts are beating with Pakistani and Chilean hearts. Thank you to all who have devoted your time to the search and taken the time to care by sending supportive words and thoughts to us in these difficult times. Ali, John and Juan Pablo will live forever in our hearts.”
Mohr’s family also thanked the Pakistan government, government of Gilgit Baltistan and the Pakistan army and “with a special mention to Sadpara family, for all the support and friendship and their friends and people from Skardu, who’s love for Ali, JP and John is now forever in our hearts.”
“We will continue their legacy, together,” the Mohr family said.
'Our hero': Search off for Pakistan’s Ali Sadpara, two other missing K2 climbers
https://arab.news/zpp2h
'Our hero': Search off for Pakistan’s Ali Sadpara, two other missing K2 climbers
- Sadpara, Iceland's John Snorri and Chile's JP Mohr were last sighted on Feb. 5 trying to complete a winter ascent of the K2
- Earlier in January, a team of 10 Nepali climbers made history by becoming the first to ever scale K2 in winter
US, China offer help as Pakistan summons top nuclear body amid spiraling India standoff
- Pakistan launched retaliatory strikes against India early Saturday after Islamabad said Indian attacks had targeted three Pakistani air bases
- The development comes amid days of clashes between the neighbors, which began after Wednesday’s missile strikes by India inside Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The Unites States (US) and China have offered their assistance in initiating talks between Pakistan and India as Islamabad summoned a meeting of the country’s top nuclear body on Saturday, amid a spiraling conflict with India.
Pakistan launched retaliatory strikes against India early Saturday and targeted multiple military sites, including a missile storage facility, following Indian attacks on its air bases. The Indian army said after the attacks that Pakistan was continuing its “blatant escalation” with drone strikes and using other munitions.
The development came amid days of clashes between the two neighbors, which began after Wednesday’s missile strikes by New Delhi inside Pakistan. The latest conflict has killed nearly 50 people on both sides and brought the nuclear-armed arch-foes to the brink of a full-blown war.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a telephonic conversation with Pakistan’s Army Chief General Asim Munir in a bid to lower tensions between the two sides, while China expressed its “deep concern” over the escalating situation that threatens to destabilize South Asia.
“Rubio spoke with Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir,” the State Department said. “He continued to urge both parties to find ways to deescalate and offered US assistance in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the National Command Authority on Saturday, Pakistani state media reported. The top body of civilian and military officials takes security decisions, including those related to the country’s nuclear arsenal.
Pakistan said that, before its retaliatory attacks, India had fired missiles at three air bases, including one close to the capital, Islamabad, but Pakistani air defenses intercepted most of them. Five civilians were killed in the attacks in the Jammu region of Indian-administered Kashmir, the regional police said.
Analysts and diplomats have long feared that a conflict between the arch-rivals could escalate into the use of nuclear weapons, in one of the world’s most dangerous and most populated nuclear flashpoint regions.
China, which borders both Pakistan and India, has urged both countries to avoid an escalation in fighting.
“We strongly call on both India and Pakistan to give priority to peace and stability, remain calm and restrained, return to the track of political settlement through peaceful means and avoid taking actions that further escalate tensions,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.
The Group of Seven (G7) major countries on Friday urged India and Pakistan to engage in direct dialogue.
“We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue toward a peaceful outcome,” the G7 statement said.
The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US, Britain and the European Union said in a statement they “strongly condemn” an April 22 attack, which killed 26 people in India-administered Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan, which denied the accusations and called for a neutral probe into the attack that has sparked the latest fighting between the two neighbors.
In recent years, India has been seen as an important partner by Western powers as a counter-balance to China’s rising influence. Pakistan is a US ally although its importance has diminished since Washington’s 2021 withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled only in part by both Hindu-majority India and Islamic republic of Pakistan. It has been the site of wars, insurgency and diplomatic standoffs over the decades.
Pakistan says targeted Indian military sites, S-400 missile defense system in retaliation to attacks
Pakistan says targeted Indian military sites, S-400 missile defense system in retaliation to attacks
- The two countries have been engaged in daily clashes since Wednesday, when India launched missile strikes inside Pakistan
- The latest conflict has alarmed world powers and Secretary Rubio has offered Pakistan army chief assistance in defusing crisis
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has targeted several Indian military sites and destroyed an S-400 missile defense system as part of ‘Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos,’ Pakistani military sources said on Saturday, after India reportedly fired missiles on three of its air bases.
Pakistani military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said India targeted Nur Khan, Shorkot and Murid air bases, adding that Pakistani air defense system had intercepted a majority of missiles and the few, which had sneaked in, did not cause any damage to Pakistan Air Force assets.
The two countries have been engaged in daily clashes since Wednesday, when India launched missile strikes inside Pakistan on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” over an attack in the disputed Kashmir region. It was difficult to independently verify the claims made by both sides.
“Brahmos storage site has been taken out in general area Bias. Attacks on various other places [in India] in progress. Pathan Kot Airfield, Udhampur Airforce Station hit,” a Pakistani military source said early Saturday.
“All those air bases wherefrom Pakistan was attacked are being attacked simultaneously.”
The Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, where the military has its headquarters, is around 10 kilometers from the capital, Islamabad.
“Now you just wait for our response,” Chaudhry, the Pakistani military spokesman, said in televised remarks prior to Pakistan’s retaliatory attacks.
The Indian army said “multiple enemy drones were spotted flying over” a military cantonment in Amritsar in Punjab, a state adjoining India-administered Kashmir, and were “instantly engaged and destroyed by our air defense units.”
“Pakistan’s blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western border,” it said on X.
Another Pakistani military source said “70 percent electricity grid of India has been made dysfunctional” through a cyberattack, a day after Pakistan’s economic affairs ministry’s X account was hacked and a post was published on it appealing to international partners for more loans.
The attack targeted websites, including those of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India, Crime Research Investigation Agency, Mahanagar Telecommunication Company Limited, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, and the All India Naval Technical Supervisory Staff Association. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi in this regard.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors escalated this week as they both accused each other of violating airspaces by sending drones and other munitions, killing at least 48 people on both sides. The latest conflict was sparked by an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort town that killed 26 tourists on April 22.
New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, Islamabad denies it and calls for a credible, international probe into the assault.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the National Command Authority on Saturday, Pakistani state media reported. The top body of civilian and military officials takes security decisions, including those related to the country’s nuclear arsenal.
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.
The ongoing conflict alarmed the world powers, including China, US and the United Kingdom who all have urged restraint.
United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken with Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir and urged both parties to find ways to deescalate and “offered US assistance in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts,” the State Department said.
The Group of Seven countries on Friday urged maximum restraint from both India and Pakistan and called on them to engage in direct dialogue. The United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Jane Marriott, said on X they were monitoring the developments closely.
Pakistan ports face export backlog as India’s transit ban forces shipping lines to reroute
- Shipping companies launch special feeder services via Colombo to handle cargo from Pakistan
- Some international shipper are imposing up to $800 surcharge per container amid the situation
KARACHI: Pakistan is facing a “big backlog” of export containers at its ports after international shipping lines began bypassing the country, following India’s decision to block vessels carrying Pakistani cargo, officials and shipping documents confirmed to Arab News on Friday.
The disruption has led several global shipping companies to impose emergency operational surcharges on Pakistani cargo, citing the “significant impact” of regional geopolitical tensions on their operations.
The move is expected to raise shipping costs and, ultimately, consumer prices in Pakistan, a country of over 240 million people already grappling with economic challenges.
“The European shipping services are bypassing Pakistan ports after India’s ban on the transit of ships loaded with cargoes from Pakistan,” said Syed Tahir Hussain, Secretary General of the Pakistan Ship Agents Association (PSAA).
He accused New Delhi of attempting to undermine Pakistan’s recovering economy, which has shown signs of stabilization under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $7 billion loan program.
PSAA Chairman Mohammed A. Rajpar called India’s move “unwarranted” and against international conventions, saying it was designed to discourage shipping lines from calling at Pakistani ports.
The situation comes as Islamabad is attempting to break free from its boom-and-bust economic cycles by boosting exports, which rose 6 percent to $27 billion through April, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
Until recently, many international shipping services transited Pakistani cargo through India’s largest ports — Mundra and Nhava Sheva — by loading what is termed Remaining On Board (ROB) freight.
However, India embargoed this practice last week, prompting several carriers to remove Pakistani ports from their routes and instead launch dedicated feeder services to handle trade valued at approximately $87 billion last year.
Most of Pakistan’s containerized cargo is handled through the South Asia Pakistan Terminal (SAPT) operated by CH Hutchison Holdings, Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT) run by DP World and the Karachi Gateway Terminal managed by Abu Dhabi Ports Group.
“Some vessels carrying Pakistan’s exports sailed from QICT were not allowed berthing in India,” said Hussain, whose association represents over 50 international shipping lines.
“They had to divert to Dubai and other nearby ports,” he added, without specifying when the incident occurred.
Shipping documents seen by Arab News show that at least four vessels were denied entry by Indian authorities earlier this week due to “Karachi onboard cargo.” These ships were rerouted to Colombo in Sri Lanka and Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates.
Swiss carrier MSC Mediterranean Shipping redirected all destination cargo via Colombo aboard its vessel MSC Positano V-JP526R, which had been scheduled to call at QICT on May 6.
This change, MSC said in a customer notice, was “due to the current geopolitical situation and restrictions on imports and exports via/from India.”
French shipping giant CMA CGM has removed Karachi from at least four of its service routes, citing the need to adjust operations to and from Pakistan.
“BIG BACKLOG” AT PORTS
Export congestion is building at Pakistani ports as hundreds of containers await shipment.
“There is big backlog,” said Khurram Mukhtar, Patron-in-Chief of the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA).
Textiles remain Pakistan’s largest export sector, contributing $17 billion last year.
Mukhtar noted that most shipping lines were now planning to route exports through Colombo, with system updates expected by Monday.
MSC has launched a “Pakistan-Colombo Shuttle Service,” a weekly feeder vessel that will transport export containers to Sri Lanka for onward connections to global destinations.
Amid the ongoing crisis, international shipping lines have begun imposing surcharges on Pakistani exporters and importers.
CMA CGM has introduced an Emergency Operational Recovery Surcharge (EORS) of up to $800 per container for shipments to the US, Latin America and Australia, effective from May 15 through June 6.
The French firm said the surcharge was necessary to maintain service reliability and safety during this period. CMA CGM operates more than 250 routes globally with a fleet of 650 vessels.
“Pakistan’s exports are suffering,” said a senior official at one of Pakistan’s major container terminals, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“This will lead to the buildup of a huge container backlog at Pakistani ports,” the official said. “There will be issues like port demurrages. The shipping lines will be charging the consignees with detentions.”
Pakistan vows retaliation, saying three bases targeted by Indian missiles
- Army says Nur Khan base, Murid base in Chakwal district and one in Shorkot targeted by Indian missiles
- Reports came after Chaudhry said in sudden statement India fired ballistic missiles that fell in Indian territory
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Military Spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Saturday India had attacked multiple bases in Pakistan, vowing retaliation.
In the latest confrontation between the two longstanding enemies that began on Wednesday, India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan in retaliation for what it says was a deadly Islamabad-backed attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22. Pakistan says it was not involved and denied that any of the sites hit by India were militant bases. It said it shot down five Indian aircraft on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s military said on Friday it shot down 77 drones from India at multiple locations, including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore, and the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home to the army’s headquarters.
On Saturday early morning, panic rang out in Pakistan as reports emerged that Pakistan Air Force’s Nur Khan base had been hit.
The Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, where the military has its headquarters, is around 10 kilometers from the capital, Islamabad.
In televised remarks, the military spokesman said three bases, Nur Khan, PAF Base Murid, an operational flying base of the Pakistan Air Force located near the village of Murid in the Chakwal District of Punjab, and one in Shorkot, had been targeted by Indian missiles.
“Now you just wait for our response,” Chaudhry said.
The reports came after Chaudhry said India fired ballistic missiles that fell in Indian territory, announcing it in a sudden statement on national broadcaster at 1:50 a.m. local time on Saturday (2050 GMT), with no details provided to support the claim.
“I want to give you the shocking news that India fired six ballistic missiles from Adampur. One of the ballistic missiles hit in Adampur, the rest of the five missiles hit in the Indian Punjab area of Amritsar,” the army’s spokesman said in his short video statement.
Amritsar’s district commissioner in a text message between Friday and Saturday said:
“Don’t panic. Siren is sounding as we are under red alert. Do not panic, as before, keep lights off, move away from windows. We will inform you when ready to resume power supply.”
Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday’s conflagration, according to casualty estimates on both sides of the border that have not been independently verified.
Pakistan military says it will not let India set precedent for cross-border strikes
- Military spokesperson says Pakistan has ‘every right to protect its honor, integrity and sovereignty’
- He says India has been equipping people against Pakistan while running ‘terrorist’ training camps
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military said on Friday it would not allow India to “set a new norm” where it could carry out cross-border strikes at will, vowing to defend the country’s sovereignty and respond at a time and place of its choosing.
The two South Asian nuclear rivals have been on the brink of a full-scale war since India carried out strikes on multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday, in response to a deadly April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that left 26 tourists dead. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the attack, a charge Pakistan has denied.
In the days since, Pakistan has claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets and over 75 drones, while India said it had retaliated against Pakistani air and drone assaults by destroying an air defense system in Lahore.
Global powers have urged both sides to exercise restraint, but tensions remain high.
“They want to set a new norm that at their convenience, whenever they feel like it, they will go cross-border, cross-international, and hit wherever they like,” Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a briefing to foreign media.
“What do you think of Pakistan — that we will allow all this to happen after clearly saying we have every right to protect the honor, integrity and sovereignty of our people?”
He added that Pakistan would respond “at the time, place and method of our choosing.”
During the briefing, Chaudhry displayed images of children killed in Indian strikes and asked journalists to keep them in mind.
“Please remember these pictures when you talk about what’s happening on the ground and when you ask us what Pakistan is going to do,” he said.
Accusing India of sponsoring “terrorism,” Chaudhry alleged that Indian agencies were operating training camps inside their country and directing armed groups to increase attacks on Pakistani soil.
“They have networks of people whom they train and equip with weapons,” he said. “Instructions have been issued to terrorist groups to ramp up activities against Pakistan.”
India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars, but this is the most serious escalation since both countries became declared nuclear powers in May 1998.
The disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both sides claim in full but control in part, has long been a flashpoint and the cause of repeated military skirmishes.
