By Muhammad Luqman
Cyclist and athlete Samar Khan has become the first Pakistani woman to summit Africa’s highest peak Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, according to media reports.
After riding the mountain, Samar, 27, posted on social media: “With all your prayers & best wishes, successfuly scaled #KIBO (Uhuru Peak) & rode on it all the way to #MoshiGate.”
Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano with three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira. The mountain, which is 5,895 metres above sea level, is also known as the “roof of Africa”.
The Tanzanian Tourism Department has awarded Samar with a certificate for climbing the mountain.
Samar Khan, who hails from North-Western Pakistan district of Dir in conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province , was sponsored by Pakistan Army for the trip.
In a video message in late October, Samar thanked Pakistan Army for funding her trip and making her dreams turn into reality.
“On [the] special instructions of army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan Army is financially sponsoring talented young cyclist Samar Khan, [who hails] from Dir, Malakand division in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) P, for her participation in mountain cycling event in Tanzania this November,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
Moreover, Samar is also the first woman in the world to have cycled on the 4,500-metre-high Biafo glacier in Gilgit-Baltistan.
