ISLAMABAD: Team leader Rehmat Ullah and Dr Naveed Iqbal, who are part of the Pak-China Friendship Expedition 2013 Climbs, became the first Pakistanis to summit the Muztagh Ata peak in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China.

Text messages of congratulations were sent soon after the two climbers reached the top of the 7,546-metre peak at 7am on Wednesday morning.

“Rehmat Ullah and Dr Naveed Iqbal, along with five Chinese members, left Camp-III at midnight for a final push for the top,” said member of executive council of Alpine Club Pakistan (ACP) Karrar Haidri.

The third member of the Pakistani team, Ahmad Mujtaba, was forced to stop short of the summit because of strong winds. According to Mr Haidri, the Muztagh Ata climb was not technically challenging or steep but reaching the top became difficult because of the high altitude and strong winds.

He said both Rehmat Ullah and Dr Naveed Iqbal were professional climbers and had both reached the Spantik Peak which stood at 7,027 metres high. Rehmat Ullah had conquered the 8,051-metre-high Broad Peak (the 12th highest mountain in the world) and had also attempted to reach the Nanga Parbat summit but could not succeed.

“Rehmat Ullah reported cloudy weather and strong winds of more than 45 kilometers per hour, which prevented the climbers from remaining on the summit for long,” Karrar Haidri said.

He told Dawn that the expedition members quickly retreated to the safety of Camp-III, and also shared a message from the team leader who spoke from Muztagh Ata summit thanking all well-wishers for their prayers.

All team members took turns to speak to President ACP Manzoor Hussain from the summit and then again from Camp-III.

The expedition was jointly launched by the ACP and the Chinese Mountaineering Association to express solidarity with the 11 mountaineers who were killed by terrorists at the Diamer Base Camp, Nanga Parbat on June 22, 2013.

“It also paid tribute to the two Chinese mountaineers who were among the 11 mountaineers,” said Karrar Haidri.

The expedition left Islamabad on July 5, 2013 and reached base camp on July 10.

In their final attempt for the summit, the mountaineers climbed Camp-I (5,200 metres) on July 21 and then reached Camp-II installed at 6,000 metres on July 22. They reached the 6,900-metre-high Camp III on July 23 from where they attempted the summit at midnight.

President ACP Col Manzoor Hussain, a mountaineer himself, congratulated the Pakistan Team on the successful climb.

He said the climbers had demonstrated their determination, strength and climbing skills. He congratulated all members on achieving their objectives and also thanked the Chinese for their support in launching the joint venture.

The climbers are expected to reach base camp on Thursday and would take another five days to return to Pakistan after certain formalities are finalised.