President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday asked the government to host an international conference on mountaineering and establish institutions to train climbers.“Proper institutional framework can attract youth to mountain climbing. This will help them expend their energy in a way, which will be self-fulfilling but will also earn name for the country,” said the president during a meeting with mountaineers Hassan Sadpara and Ghulam Muhammad at Aiwan-e-Sadar.

The two mountaineers plan scaling Mount Everest this year.President Zardari said the country could attract lots of visitors and climbers from around the world by promoting mountaineering.He assured the two mountaineers of government’s support and cooperation in their bid to hoist Pakistan’s flag on the world’s highest peak.

Alpine Club President Nazir Sabir presented various proposals for mountaineering promotion to the president in the form of a report. The president said the government would examine the proposals.KANA Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Northern Areas Chief Executive Shaheen Baig and senior officials of the relevant ministries also attended the meeting.