Ambassador Zahid Nasrullah Khan of Pakistan hosted a dinner at the Seoul Club near Hotel Shilla in Seoul on Sept. 10, 2015 in honor of two special guests from Pakistan. They were Ms.Samina Baig and her elder brother,Mirza Ali Baig, who are the distinguished mountaineers of Pakistan.
Ms. Baig was the first Pakistani woman and the third Pakistani to climb Mount Everest. She is also the youngest Muslim woman to climb Everest, having done so at the age of 21. Too, Samina is the first Pakistani woman and the first Muslim to climb the seven summits (referring to the seven highest mountains of all seven continents, including Antarctica).
Attending the dinner were many Korean mountaineers and leaders of Korean climbers’ organizations.
Ms. Baig, born on19th September, 1990, is the first Pakistani woman and the third Pakistani to climb Mount Everest. She is also the youngest Muslim woman to climb Mount Everest, having done so at the age of 21, and also the first Muslim to climb the seven summits (i.e. seven highest mountains of all seven continents, including Antarctica). Her brother Mr. MirzaAli, started off as a porter before becoming a professional climber.
To share their experiences, Ms. SaminaBaig and Miza Ali toured three leading universities of South Korea (Korea University, Sungkunkwan University and Hanyang University) and met a large number of Korean and International students, in addition to many Pakistani students.
Their itinerary also included attending the International Tourism Fare at Busan, a trekking expedition with famous Korean mountain trekkers, attending a big reception hosted by the Korean Alpine Federation, and a dinner interaction hosted by the Pakistan Business Association.
During the course of their interactions, Ms. Baig and Mirza Ali narrated how they worked hard, hailing from a small remote village in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, and became professional mountain climbers, eventually climbing the 7 highest peaks in all the seven continents of the world. They outlined the challenges that they faced during their careers, and how they fought to overcome them.
Students at universities, heads from corporate organizations, Korean mountain climbers, Korean professionals, International and Korean tourists, were greatly inspired by the narrations of the young climbers, and expressed their interest in visiting Pakistan, particularly the Northern Areas of Pakistan.
Representatives of travel agencies showed a great interest in organizing tours to Pakistan. The presentations by the two climbers, particularly, Ms. SaminaBaig, promoted a soft image of Pakistan as being a beautiful country with plenty of trekking opportunities, and where women have equal opportunities to succeed.
