KARACHI: Mountaineer Abdul Jabbar Bhatti, a former lieutenant colonel, beca­me the fourth Pakistani to conquer the world’s highest peak Mount Everest on Sunday, state-run PTV reported.

Col Bhatti is an accomplished mountaineer and a recipient of the President’s Pride of Performance award and Tamgha-i-Basalat.

He scaled Broad Peak (8,051 metres) in 1985, Gasherbrum-2 (8,035m) in 1986, and Spantik Peak (7,027m) in 2012. It took him one-and-a-half months to complete the Everest expedition. Mount Everest stands 8,848m high above sea level.

According to a tweet by Saad Mohamed, another Pakistani who is trying his luck at Everest this year Col Bhatti reached the mountain’s Camp 4 on Saturday.

In a Facebook post on Sunday night, Col Bhatti’s brother, Asif Bhatti, shared the good news with friends and journalists.

The other Pakistanis to have conquered Mount Ever­est are Hassan Sadpara, Samina Baig (2013) and Nazir Sabir (2000).

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2017