Islamabad: Salena Khawaja, a nine-year-old Pakistani girl has become the youngest to scale the 5,765-metre-high Quz Sar Peak in Shimshal Valley, Hunza.
The student of grade five who has a passion for outdoor activities started physical training at the age of eight in the mountains of Miranjani and Makra. Scaling Miranjani at least 45 times and it is nearly 3,000 meters high, the nine-year-old has summited the 4,000-metre Makra Peak around 3 times now.
Selena Khawaja has a special love for peaks as she lives in the mountain city of Abbottabad. Selena expressed her feelings in an interview to Gulf News on reaching the summit, “The view from the top of the mountain is very beautiful.”
Selena and her father are inspired by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan. “Aim so high that your goal seems impossible then work hard and achieve your goal — these words of Imran Khan motivate me and Selena to aim for Mount Everest,” her father shared in an interview.
She has set bigger milestones for herself, “I will aim for the world’s tallest mountain in 2019 to become the youngest girl to reach the top of Mount Everest”.
Yousaf Khawaja, Selena’s father who was accompanying her during her latest triumph, says that he sensed improvement in Selena’s activity during one-month training and she was able to do Miranjani round trip in half the time.
Pakistan’s mountaineer community has named her the “Mountain Princess.”
While the mountaineering community has welcomed the feat, but there are concerns about the safety of kids at such altitudes. However, Selena’s father, believes his daughter has trained well physically and takes special care of her diet. “At age nine, she is way more fit than a casual 20-year-old,” he said.
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