By Jamil Bhatti
ISLAMABAD, July 27 (Xinhua) -- A group of 12-member mountaineering team comprising of six members each from Pakistan and China was warmly welcomed and appreciated on Thursday after they completed a record-time expedition in Pakistan's northern mountainous region.
Six climbers from China Mountaineering Association (CMA) headed by Luo Shen reached Pakistan during the first week of July and started expedition of Spantik Peak along with six Pakistani fellows of Alpine Club led by Abdul Jabbar Bhatti.
The 7,027-meter high mountain Spantik Peak lies in Spantik-Sosbun Mountains, a sub range of Karakoram in Pakistan's northern region. It is also known as the "Golden Pillar" due to its exceptionally hard climbing route, which was first climbed by a German national Karl Kramer in 1955.
The Pak-China team completed the expedition of Spantik Peak in record time of 11 days.
This journey was organized in connection with the celebrations of the 60th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Pakistan and China, celebrated in 2011.
In first activity, officials at the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) in capital Islamabad warmly welcomed the team and congratulated them on the successful conclusion of the expedition.
Director General of PSB Syed Amir Hamza Gilani, while talking to Chinese adventurers, desired that such programs should be continued between the two neighbours and more exchange of youth mountaineering camps would also be organized and encouraged in future.
On Thursday afternoon, the team was also welcomed at the committee room of PSB in the Pakistani Parliament (the lower house) where federal minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani honoured and greeted the guests.
Bijarani appreciated the team members of the two countries on completion of the expedition of Spantik Peak in record 11 days time.
"Pakistan and China are time tested friends. I hope more Chinese climbers will come for more expeditions as Pakistan has most beautiful challenging-peaks for the mountaineers," said Bijrani.
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