Photo feature: Paragliding in Pakistan

Paragliding, a free-flying thrill sport, is gradually taking roots in cricket-crazy Pakistan which offers perfect environment and geography to enthusiasts to fly like birds.

Paragliding was introduced in Pakistan mainly by European climbers in the 1980s when they visited the South Asian country to scale some of world's highest mountains in country's north.

However it was in 1990 that a Pakistani mountaineer, Jabbar Bhatti, 50, demonstrated paragliding by flying in the northern city of Abbottabad for state television network. 

Pakistan is home to five of the world's peaks over 8,000 meters (2,6246 feet) and lies on the convergence of the Himalayas, Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Pamir ranges and plenty of ideal locations for paragliding.

Sajjad Shah, 44, one of the pioneering paraglider pilots in Pakistan, says paragliding is gaining popularity in Pakistan particular among young people who hardly have good avenues to channel their energies in a positive way.
"It is better than drugs and illegal drag racing on city roads," Shah said while unloading gliders from his green Toyota Prado in the scenic village of Thipra, some 35 kilometres (21 miles) northwest of capital Islamabad.

 Shah said young people approached him and his mates whenever they flew in the Margallah Hills overlooking capital Islamabad and requested to teach them paragliding at any cost.
"Paragliding is not an expensive sport and for youths who destroy cars worth million of rupees in a night while racing It is no big deal for them," Shah said. "It provides more thrill than riding a motorbike with its front wheel in the air and losing one's life to it on city roads," Shah said.
"We want the youth to join the world of paragliding and our aim is to promote the paragliding by teaching others according to international safety standards," said Shah, who is also president of Pakistan Association of Free Flying.

"Paragliding may also involves mountaineering as you have to climb up to mountain tops for the take off," said Shah as he climbed up the hill with fellow pilots Bhatti and Nadeem Iqbal carrying paragliders in their back packs.

After a 45-minute steep climb up pilots unpack the fabric wings and lay them on the ground and hook them to their harnesses.  

One by one they stand facing the wind and move the strings which suddenly fills in the wing and it rises overhead lifting the pilots upwards and they are airborne. 

After an enjoyable flight, the pilots land in the cornfields below as school children gather to greet them.
"Only a paraglider pilot knows why birds sing," said Bhatti after a brilliant landing with his orange paraglider.

"The most significant aspect of paragliding is that it just needs a little wind and one flies the way birds fly and one can stay in the air for hours and hours by taking advantage of thermals created by sunlight," he said."Birds fly with us, they become our guides and lead us towards thermals," Bhatti said referring to warm air which lifts a glider upwards.  

"To have wings and fly like a bird had been the ambition of humans for centuries and one feels like a bird wile paragliding," Shah says. "Once your foot are off the ground, you leave all the stresses of daily life behind and feel as free as a bird," Shah.  

Nadeem Iqbal, 33, who flew this year in 4,300 meters (1,4107 feet) Shandhoor pass in northern Pakistan during annual polo festival, said paragliding offered new challenges to pilots every time they take off.
"paragliding is all about taking new challenges and accomplishment," Iqbal said. 

Bhatti said the group was training young people with an aim that some of them could make it to world championship event. 

"India, China and Nepal in our region are participating in world championship and it is our aim to prepare at least few pilots who can participate in the global event," Bhatti said. 

The group has set up a basic paragliding school in Thipra where they organise training for the beginners.
"We do not earn from this activity as it is not our profession, but a passion to promote the sport which is also called pocket aviation, by teaching others," Bhatti said.

A typical paraglider is made of a special fabric, lines and a seat harness which weighs between 10-15 kilograms (22-33 pounds) and it costs around 2,000 to 3,000 dollars.

For many people it would be expensive to buy their own paragliders, but Shah's organisation affords them an opportunity of free use.  

The group had been hosts to veterans of paragliding world like Pierre Leuno, John Silvester, Leroy Westerkamp, Marina Olexina, Douglas, Ulritz and many other world class paraglider pilots. 

Leroy Westerkamp of the Netherlands this year set a new world record in paragliding by climbing to 7,685 meters (25,213 feet) altitude and broke the old Gain of Height record with 4,526 metres (14,849 feet) in Pakistan's northern Hunza district.  

Westerkamp is coming next year in Pakistan to cross world's second highest mountain K-2 by paragliding.
K2, with a treacherous 8,611-meter (28,250-foot) peak, is known in the local language as Chogori or King of Mountains, has a ratio of climbers to deaths of 27 percent, three times that of Everest.  

Pakistan Association of Free Flying plans to hold international paragliding festival in Pakistan next year at Chajian, about 1,460 meteres (4,800 feet) high peak in Margallah Hills that lie between Islamabad and Haripur district.  

Shah said the location was good for cross-country flying and the pilots would fly to Murree, a hill resort town, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Islamabad.

The community of paraglider pilots is very small, around 100 or so and there is only one qualified instructor in Pakistan and trainers had to be flown from abroad to teach, Shah said. 

"Our flying standards as compared to outside world is at starting point. To graduate from a primary pilot licence to a pilot licence one needs to fly regularly, that was not possible for most of us so we are mostly primary pilots," he said. 

Another setback to promotion of paragliding came in April 2006 when the government banned paragliding in capital Islamabad due to security reasons, he said. 

"That has created difficulties for paraglider pilots, who now have to travel outside the capital for the pursuit of their passion. In Islamabad, the chances for promotions were far greater than here," he said.  

"There is a desire in the government circles to promote paragliding in Pakistan to attract tourism, but much needs to be done to translate this desire into reality," he said. 

Tourism authorities said paragliding could attract more tourist to Pakistan. "Paragliding has a great potential to promote tourism in Pakistan and we have sponsored paragliding events during Polo Festival this year," said Jahangir Khan, deputy chief of Pakistan Tourism Development.  

"Pakistan offers great opportunities to the paraglider pilots around the world as it has most favourable conditions in the northern parts of the country," Khan said.�