Mountaineer Shehroze Kashif complains of lack of govt’s support

LAHORE: Young Pakistani mountaineer Shehroze Kashif expressed disappointment with the government’s lack of response to his feats, complaining he has not received any support from authorities.

In May, Shehroze summited Kanchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu. He had previously summited Mount Everest, K2, Manaslu, and Broad Peak.

Kashif, in an interview with Geo.tv, said when he summited Mount Everest, President Arif Alvi said he will take ownership of his next summits, but nothing of the sort happened.

“…no one even answered my calls after that,” he said.

The young mountaineer said officials told him that he was included in the elite pool of athletes. However, such assurances were verbal and nothing has been done on paper so far, he lamented.

Shehroze also said that the Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination owed him some funds, which are overdue. The mountaineer noted that in the past a person who would summit Mount Everest would be awarded Rs5 million, but when he did it, he was not even given Rs1 million.

The mountaineer said he was going on summits by taking loans from people. “I take 5-10 dollars from people and I do not like this at all,” he lamented.

Shehroze said his family would spend all their money on him after paying utility bills, but now, his father does not have enough funds to support his passion.

“My father sold his car and plot for my mountaineering, but now, he has nothing left,” he added.