Letter from Manzoor Hussain - President of Alpine Club of Pakistan

Dear Steve,

I thank the American climbing community and yourself for the thoughts and condolences in this hour of our shock and grief which we suffered due to the traumatic and brutal massacre of 10 innocent guest mountaineers and one local staff on the night of 22^nd June 2013 at the Diamer Base Camp of Nanga Parbat, in Gilgit –Baltistan. It was painful for us to receive the bodies and then listen to the survivors and those climbers who were on the higher camps during that night. I personally apologised to the concerned federations, to the 43 mountaineers who were brought back to Islamabad on 24^th June and the bereaved families, some of whom were in Islamabad to receive bodies of their kith and kin. ACP also held a Condolence Reference for the killed mountaineers on 25^th June which was attended by all the Nanga Parbat mountaineers, government officials, ACP members and others. Nazir and I worked closely since he received the information early morning on 23^nd June.     

We coordinated shifting of all NP mountaineers from Diamer Base Camp to Chilas by the Army helicopter sorties and its land transportation to Islamabad and handing over the stuff to all the mountaineers, including the deceased ones to expedition leaders on 29^th June. I may mention that bodies of the killed mountaineers were despatched to their respective countries by Air force planes by the Government of Pakistan on 27^th June.  Later baggage of the killed Ukrainian and Slovakian mountaineers was also despatched by special Air force plane on 30^th June.

The masses and the Government of Pakistan have been shocked and jolted by this unfortunate tragedy and we are already working to revise our procedures and security system in the mountain areas to make the area secure for all the visitors to the areas.

Regards

Manzoor Hussain

President
Alpine Club of Pakistan