Teenage Pakistani girls score world record after climbing Manglesser peak
Three young girls from Pakistan have earned themselves a world record by scaling a 6,080-metre Manglessar peak in the Shimshal valley in Karakoram mountain range. 13-year-old Amina Hanif, 14-year-old Maryam Bashir and 15-year-old Siddiqa Batool hailing from the Hushey valley of Gilgit-Baltistan are granddaughters of famous mountaineer Little Karim. Accompanied by their grandfather on the incredible yet arduous summit along with nine other climbers and four foreigners, the girls set foot on the Manglesser peak on July 24. Talking to a local newspaper after they completed their journey, the girls said, “If our grandfather did not motivate and encourage us we could not have made history and become young female climbers in the mountaineering world.” “This is the start of our career and in future we wish to scale the world’s loftiest peak Mount Everest and K2, the second,” Amina said. The trio started their expedition on July 16 and reached atop the Manglessar peak on July 24, their father said. Their grandfather Little Karim, a globally-renowned mountain climber, said that he launched this campaign to encourage more women from GilgitBaltistan to take interest in mountaineering. “It will no doubt create mountaineering and climbing trend among women in Baltistan as they are brave and hardworking,” he hoped.