Chitral mourns loss of an accomplished paraglider

PESHAWAR: “It’s hard to find words, the first stage of grief is denial and that’s where I am at the moment,” said Brad Sander, an American paraglider in one of his Facebook posts while commemorating Shahzada Farhad Aziz, a Pakistani paraglider who lost his life in the December 7 plane crash.

Aziz and his youngest daughter Taiba Aziz were also onboard the PIA’s PK661 Chitral to Islamabad flight that crashed last Wednesday near Havelian, killing all the 42 passengers, including singer-turned-preacher Junaid Jamshed as well as five crew members.



“Aziz, 60, who belonged to the Chitral royal family, was not only a paraglider but also a philanthropist, who was at the forefront of rescue work whenever a disaster hit the Chitral valley,” said Syed Meraj Husain, a member of the Hindukush Association for Paragliding (HKAP) founded by Aziz.

Husain said Aziz was considered a man of adventures who would love to take part in the extreme sports. “He loved mountaineering, hiking, swimming but it was paragliding that had become his passion,” he said.

Chitral’s topography is so well suited to paragliding that paragliding enthusiasts visit it from across the world. Brad Sander – an expert paraglider who has broken several records – was also one such visitor under whose influence paragliding became popular amongst the locals.

“It was Sander from whom Chitralis learned this skill. He was the founder of the Paragliding Chitral. After getting training from Sander, Aziz also trained several other people and now his association, the HKAP has 32 members – 12 of which are well trained pilots,” Husain said.

“Aziz was among the first local people, who flew over the silent mountain, lush green fields and icy slopes. He was a very loving, deeply affectionate instructor, who would take us to the mountain tops and teach us how to fly,” he said.

Husain said Aziz was a Paragliding Tandem pilot whose highest flight, a local record, is 6,500 metres. “It was a three-hour flight which started from Chitral; passed through green valleys and mountains and landed at Aurang Valley. During that flight he covered a distance of some 44km,” he said. “Here everyone’s heart is filled with grief in Chitral,” said Husain.  “I have no words to tell how deeply Chitralis feel about the sudden death of Aziz, who stood by them in every trial.”

Another member of the association, Mir Muhammad Yasin, said: “Aziz was the first paraglider from Chitral. He took the first flight in 1985 with foreigners. After 2007, paragliding was properly started in Chitral after the visits of Brad Sander.”



Remembering the resilience of his late instructor, he said Aziz suffered a number of accidents but survived them all. “Last year, he broke his hand but recovered and started his practice once again.”

Yasin said whenever there was any natural calamity, the HKAP would turn into a charity organisation. “We fly high but our spirits fly even higher,” he quoted Aziz as saying once.

Distributing foods and medicines and reconstructing houses and water channels were some of the well-remembered works of Farhad Aziz.  “He along with his team traveled for several nights to reach the far-flung areas of Baroghal, the areas once worst affected by natural calamity,” Yasin added. “We will miss you, your flights, your company, your love, your leading style, your encouragement for every pilot and every member of this association,” said the HKAP members in their message after Aziz’s demise.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2016.