Spanish couple, five Pakistanis scales Karakoram peak

ISLAMABAD: A Spanish couple and five Pakistanis, including a widow, have scaled the 6,050-metre high Minglig Sar peak at Shimsal in the Karakoram ranges.

"It was the first ever joint expedition of Pakistan and a foreign team in which a woman climber, Dur Begam, from Northern Areas participated," member of the expedition team Murtaza Baig said.

Spanish climbers, Valentin and Easter along with Pakistanis -- Murtaza Baig, Mehrban Shah, his daughter-in-law Dur Begum, Yahya Baig and Hidayat Karim all from Shimshal valley -- scaled the summit in June.

Dur Begum, a widow became the second woman from Pakistan to scale Mingling Sar, 'Dawn' newspaper reported.

Her husband, the late Ghulam Ali Shah died in 2004 in an avalanche at Chafchingol pass in Shimshal, known as the "valley of mountaineers".

Farzana Jabeen from the same village was first to scale the summit along with her two brothers last year.

Speaking about the expedition, Dur Begum said,"I got an inspiration from my father-in-law and late husband. After my husband's death it was my aim to continue his mission to become a famous mountaineer. I will hopefully try to climb more peaks in future."