The Pakistan mountain massacre

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2024

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2013, 11 people were shot dead in base camp of the Nanga Parbat mountain in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.

The gunmen were associated with the Pakistani Taliban and the group were set up to target foreigners.

It was the worst attack on tourists in Pakistan in a decade.

Polish climber Aleksandra Dzik, aged 30, was on the mountain that night, at camp two, and speaks to Megan Jones.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Nanga Parbat base camp. Credit: Aleksandra Dzik)

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.
0:06.5	I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:11.1	I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,
0:16.0	relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.
0:22.4	So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,
0:28.3	and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience.
0:32.3	And maybe that's you.
0:33.6	So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.
0:42.5	Music So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds. Hello and welcome to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service with me, Megan Jones.
0:51.1	I'm taking you back to 2013 to the Western Himalayas in Pakistan, when 11 people were killed
0:58.4	by members of a militant group on one of the world's highest mountains.
1:03.2	We saw everything was shattered, and there was blood, and then we believed that it did happen.
1:10.2	It's the evening of the 22nd of June 2013,
1:14.1	a popular month to scale the Nunga Pabat Mountain in the Gilgit-Baltestan region.
1:19.8	Along the route to the summit are different camps so you can stop, get acclimatized
1:24.3	and reduce the risk of altitude sickness.
1:27.2	30-year-old Polish climate Alexandra Deek has made it past base camp and camp one and is now at Camp 2.
1:34.2	My father was trying to climb this mountain twice. He didn't step on the summits.
1:39.6	I also tried once in 2010, but I didn't succeed, so I wanted to try once again.
1:46.6	At Camp 2, they're more than 6,000 metres above sea level and getting set up for the night
1:52.2	before they try and reach Camp 3 tomorrow.
1:55.5	I remember we were in a hurry because when evening comes, the snow immediately changed into the ice and then
	...

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