By NNN-APP
Islamabad : Legendry Pakistani climber Nazir Sabir was honoured with the honorary membership of American Alpine Club as a token for his outstanding achievements in Himalayan climbing and his services in the field of environmental protection.
According to message received here, Nazir is one of the few selected climbers outside America holding the honour.
He was invited to attend and deliver a lecture at the annual dinner of the AAC in Golden, a mountain outpost in Colorado.
American Alpine Club is 106 years old and is one of the leading mountaineering clubs in the world with great historical achievements all over the world.
Jim Donini president of AAC announced the honorary membership for Nazir Sabir and Mark Richey, the immediate past president of AAC read out Nazir’s climbing brief history and profile.
Nazir Sabir was given a standing ovation by a crowd of hundreds of climbers from across America including three of those from the famous 1953 American K2 Expedition at the end of his presentation about Pakistan‘s mountain potentials for tourism followed by his slide talk “Mountains of My Dreams” that consisted of 128 selected pictures from his own collection of over 7000 slides.
Nazir was given the same honor in 1998 by The British Alpine Club, the world’s oldest and pioneering organization in Alpinism around the globe.
Nazir Sabir later flew to Canada to participate at the International Vancouver Mountain Film Festival, annual feature, as part of his promotional activities and addressed a gathering there where Nazir was invited as a film jury in 2002 as well.
Nazir will be doing a slide talk for the Pakistani community organized by the Pakistan Consulate in Vancouver on Feb 29 showing selected pictures from his climbing exploits.
This is Nazir Sabir’s second visit to the North Americas after 9/11 to promote Pakistan as a tourism destination and to fight the negative media campaign against Pakistan.
He went to America and Canada in Feb/March 2002 as part of similar activities and to promote the event of “The International year of Mountains” doing 23 talks in Canada and USA at Universities and mountaineering clubs.
Besides promotion of tourism one of his underlying purpose is also to show that ordinary Pakistanis are very peace loving and democratic minded people.
On his both visits the enthusiastic response at his talks and media attention has been outstanding and proven that Americans are very receptive to this message.
Nazir Sabir is the only Pakistani to have climbed the world’s highest mountain Everest 8850m, on May 17, 2000.
He has also climbed extensively in Pakistan, particularly K2 8616m, second highest in the world from a new route West Face got him respect and distinction in the mountaineering fraternity.
Nazir Sabir was awarded “Presidents Medal for Pride of Performance” in 1982 and Sitara-e-Imtiaz, “Star of Distinction” in 2002 for his achievements in the filed of mountaineering in and outside Pakistan.
Nazir was elected to the Legislative Assembly from his native valley Hunza defeating his rival and taking away the public mandate for the first time as a commoner from the ruling family yet again climbing another Everest in his own way.
He was entrusted the portfolio of education and tourism from 1994 – 1999 by the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Americans see a mostly distorted view of Pakistan in their newspapers and on television.
Quite often the American media carry stories and images of angry extremists demonstrating in the streets.
Part of Nazir Sabir’s reason for traveling to North America is to provide a different view of Pakistan, the view of the majority of the country.
This other face of Pakistan, which he has communicated, has been greatly appreciated by his audiences all along his visits both times.
His reception by Americans, since arriving in San Francisco, has been very warm and friendly. Americans, he has found, are eager to hear about the present situation in Pakistan.
Sabir fascinated Americans with stories of his own humble beginnings in climbing in the Hunza Valley to his first ascent of the West Face of K2 in 1981 with a Japanese expedition.
His slides of the beautiful mountains of Pakistan enthralled his audiences.
In discussing the current political situation, Sabir reminded Americans that Pakistan has always been a strong US ally during the Cold War and facilitated America’s rapprochement with China in a very special way solving them a diplomatic dilemma.