Cyclist and athlete Samar Khan has become the first Pakistani woman to summit Africa?s highest peak Mount Kilimanjaro. Photo: Samar Khan/Facebook

 

TANZANIA: Cyclist and athlete Samar Khan has become the first Pakistani woman to summit Africa?s highest peak Mount Kilimanjaro, Geo News reported Sunday.

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.?

She also shared that she is on her way back to Pakistan after the ascent and will reach Islamabad at 8AM Monday morning (tomorrow).

Located in Tanzania, 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 awarded Samar with a certificate for climbing the mountain. 

Samar Khan, who hails from Dir, Malakand Division of Khyber Pakthunkhwa, 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.