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| Maksut Zhumayev |
Friends of famous
Kazakhstan alpinist Maksut Zhumayev were among those killed in the attack in
Pakistan-controlled Gilgit-Baltistan on June 23, Tengrinews.kz reports. “One
was a close friend. In fact, they were all our friends."
"It doesn’t
matter what kind of alpinist you are and where you are from: the U.S., Nepal or
Japan. Everyone who climbs mountains are one family. One good alpinist from
Ukraine was among the victims. There were people whom I met at Elbrus and they
asked me about the route. I gave them recommendations and sent pictures,”
Zhumayev said.
The climber said that
he was in the area with a Kazakh expedition in 2003. “We were climbing the same
route. A local dude came up to our camp on a horse and with a Kalashnikov gun.
There is always a possibility that something bad happens in that area. It is
close to Chelas where armed conflicts are taking place. This is a horrible
situation. We’ve been there, we know,” said the captain of the Kazakhstan
alpinism team.
According to RIA
Novosti, militants attacked ten tourists in Gilgit province in north Pakistan
on June 23. Most of the victims were climbers. Officials said 10 or 12
attackers dressed in police uniforms stormed the base camp at the foot of Nanga
Parbat and shot dead the climbers and their Pakistani guide at point-blank
range.
The bodies of the
victims were later delivered to Islamabad. The victims were identified as an
American with dual Chinese citizenship, three Ukrainians, two Slovakians, two
more climbers from China, a Lithuanian and a climber from
Nepal. Pakistan's umbrella Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the
massacre, saying it had set up a new faction, Junood ul-Hifsa, to kill
foreigners to avenge U.S. drone strikes on Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives. It
was the worst attack on foreigners in a decade in Pakistan and an unprecedented
attack on mountaineers drawn to the intrepid climbing of the north, which until
the shootings was considered immune from militancy afflicting other areas.
“Coming like that and
shooting the alpinists without any claims, political or other. I don’t know
what to say,” Maksut Zhumayev said. “We encountered armed violence against
climbers several times in Nepal. They threatened us and demanded money. But
things were easier as we could talk to them and explain everything."
"But never
before have there been such cruel murders. There should be a big public
reaction to this tragedy."
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