Woman to be first Pak citizen to travel to South Pole

ISLAMABAD: Namira Salim, who is undergoing training to be the first Pakistani to go into space, is also set to become the first citizen of the country to travel to the North and South Poles.
   
Salim will hoist Pakistan's flag at the South Pole when she travels there next month as a member of an international expedition.
   
Caretaker Prime Minister Muhammedmian Soomro on Monday presented the flag to 35-year-old Salim, a well-known artist who will blast off into space in the world's first commercial space liner in 2008.

The international expedition is expected to reach the South Pole in the second week of January.
   
Soomro told Salim the hoisting of the flag at the South Pole by a woman would "reflect a positive image of Pakistan as a peace-loving and progressive country".
   
The expedition will leave next week for the South Pole from Brazil. At the base camp near the South Pole, the team will be trained for five days.
   
Salim said it was a privilege for her to be the first Pakistani to visit the North and South Poles. She was born in the port city of Karachi but now lives in Dubai and France.
 
Her father hails from Pakistan's Punjab province while her mother was born in Allahabad and brought up in Delhi.
   
Salim's multi-dimensional mixed media art has been exhibited at summits of the UN, UNESCO and SAARC.