Who We Are

About KMGA

The Karakoram Mountain Guides Association (KMGA) is a national non-profit organization representing Pakistan's mountain guides, climbers, and high-altitude workers

Pakistan is home to some of the world's most diverse mountain landscapes, including the three highest mountain ranges: Karakoram, Himalaya, and Hindu Kush. The country hosts five of the world's fourteen peaks above 8,000 meters, including K2, the second highest mountain on Earth. These mountains support thousands of livelihoods through mountaineering, trekking, and adventure tourism.

KMGA was established to professionalize the guiding profession in Pakistan and create a structured system for training, safety, and representation. The association works to improve standards, support mountain communities, and strengthen Pakistan's role in the global mountaineering industry.

Through partnerships with international guiding organizations, collaboration with government institutions, and engagement with local communities, KMGA is building a stronger and safer future for Pakistan's mountain guides and mountaineering tradition.

KMGA Logo — Karakoram Mountain Guides Association
Our Purpose

Vision & Mission

Vision

A Pakistan where mountain guides and high-altitude professionals are recognised, trained, fairly compensated, and protected — playing a central role in the global mountaineering community.

Mission

To professionalise, represent, and advocate for Pakistan's mountain guides and high-altitude workers through training, certification, welfare programs, and international collaboration — building a sustainable future for the people who make Himalayan mountaineering possible.

Mountain guides ascending a snowfield in the Karakoram

Six Key Areas of Work

Professional Standards

Establishing and enforcing professional standards, codes of conduct, and certification requirements for mountain guides and high-altitude workers in Pakistan.

Training & Education

Delivering IFMGA-aligned training programs covering technical mountaineering, wilderness first aid, guiding skills, and leadership for aspiring and established professionals.

Member Welfare

Advocating for insurance coverage, accident compensation, and welfare funds that protect mountain professionals and their families against the risks of the profession.

Government Engagement

Working with Gilgit-Baltistan, federal authorities, and international bodies to create a regulatory environment that recognises and protects Pakistan's mountain workers.

International Partnerships

Building relationships with IFMGA, UIAA, and national guiding associations worldwide to bring Pakistan's guides into the global professional community.

Community & Environment

Promoting sustainable mountain tourism, environmental stewardship, and community benefit so that mountaineering creates lasting positive impact in Pakistan's mountain regions.

Leadership

Our Team

KMGA is governed by a two-tier leadership structure: a Governing Body that provides strategic oversight on behalf of Voting Members, and an Executive Committee that manages day-to-day operations and implements strategy.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is the chief operational authority of the Association, responsible for translating strategy into action. Executive authority is collective — no individual officer may exercise unilateral authority except where explicitly delegated. The Committee manages daily operations, implements training programs, enters technical partnerships, manages finances within approved budgets, and responds to urgent matters.

Sirbaz Khan, President
Sirbaz Khan
President
Mirza Ali, General Secretary of KMGA
Mirza Ali
General Secretary
Saad Munawar, Vice President of KMGA
Saad Munawar
Vice President
Saad Munawar, Vice President of KMGA
Zahid Hussain Rajput
Vice President
Saad Munawar, Vice President of KMGA
Sajid Ali Sadpara
Vice President
M. Arif Baltistani, Treasurer of KMGA
M. Arif Baltistani
Treasurer
Fareena Batool, Additional Secretary of KMGA
Fareena Batool
Additional Secretary
Shah Daulat, Treasurer of KMGA
Shah Daulat
Treasurer

Governing Body — Regional Representatives

The Governing Body is the principal strategic and supervisory authority of the Association, acting on behalf of Voting Members between sessions of the General Assembly. Members act in a fiduciary capacity and place the interests of the Association above regional, personal, or commercial considerations. The Governing Body approves annual strategy and budgets, elects and supervises the Executive Committee, issues strategic directives, reviews institutional risk, and holds the Executive Committee accountable through quarterly reporting and, where necessary, formal performance resolutions.

Abbas, Hushe Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Abbas
Hushe
Yousuf Ali, Hushe Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Yousuf Ali
Hushe
Sirbaz Khan, KMGA Governing Body
Sirbaz Khan
Hunza – Nagar Representative
Wajidullah, Nagar Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Wajidullah
Hunza – Nagar Representative
Mirza Ali, Shimshal Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Mirza Ali
Shimshal
Shah Daulat, Shimshal Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Shah Daulat (Late)
Shimshal · Treasurer
Saad Munawar, Outside GB Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Saad Munawar
Outside GB
Shehroze Kashif, Outside GB Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Shehroze Kashif
Outside GB
Zahid Rajput, Skardu Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Zahid Rajput
Skardu
M. Arif Baltistani, Other GB Representative, KMGA Governing Body
M. Arif Baltistani
Other GB
Muhammad Younus, Other GB Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Muhammad Younus
Other GB
Syed Sakhawat, Shigar Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Syed Sakhawat
Shigar
Fida Ali, Shigar Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Fida Ali
Shigar
Sajid Ali Sadpara, Sadpara Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Sajid Ali Sadpara
Sadpara
Ashraf Sadpara, Sadpara Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Ashraf Sadpara
Sadpara
Fareena Batool, Female Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Fareena Batool
Female Representative
Shama Baqir, Female Representative, KMGA Governing Body
Shama Baqir
Female Representative

Advisory Committee

KMGA's Advisory Committee comprises experienced mountaineers, industry professionals, and subject matter experts who provide strategic guidance to the association. Advisory Committee members serve in a non-executive capacity and are appointed by the Governing Body for their expertise and standing in the mountaineering and outdoor industry. Details to be announced.

Our Journey

History

For decades, Pakistani guides and high-altitude porters have played an essential role in some of the world's most challenging expeditions. Despite their experience and achievements, the profession operated without a unified national structure to support workers, regulate standards, or represent guides internationally.


Looking at these gaps, Pakistani climbers and guides began organizing efforts to improve training systems, safety standards, and insurance protection. These initiatives brought together experienced professionals from mountain communities across the country. In 2020, the mountain guides of Pakistan gathered and started searching for the pathway to establish a national organization representing Pakistan’s mountain guides. After several years of


coordination and planning, these efforts led to the formation of the Karakoram Mountain Guides Association.


KMGA was officially launched in Skardu in November 2025, becoming the first democratically elected national body created by and for Pakistan’s mountain guiding community.


Today, KMGA represents mountain guides across Pakistan and works to strengthen professional standards, safety systems, and international collaboration in the country’s growing adventure tourism sector.



2020

Discussions began to establish a national organisation for Pakistan's mountain guides, bringing together experienced professionals from mountain communities across the country

KMGA founding assembly group photo, November 2021, Organising Medical Camps in remote mountain

2021

Organising Medical Camps in remote mountain regions & providing support to the families of deceased mountaineers.

KMGA founding assembly group photo, November 2021, Organising Medical Camps in remote mountain

2022

Efforts began to find a better insurance product for mountain guides of Pakistan. The collaboration with Jubilee yielded 1,000% increase in Insurance coverage amount for the mountain guides.

Efforts began to find a better insurance product for mountain guides of Pakistan. 2022

2023–24

Community mobilization and awareness campaigns on the importance of good insurance coverage. As a result, more than 75% of the country’s mountain guides received better insurance coverage.

Community mobilization and awareness campaigns on the importance of good insurance coverage.

2024-25

Medical camps organised at Concordia and K2 Base Camp, providing healthcare to more than nine hundred climbers, guides, and porters in the field - one of KMGA's largest community welfare initiatives.

Medical camps organised at Concordia and K2 Base Camp, 2024-25

2024-25

Nationwide Data Collection Program: Data collection teams travelled across the country and gathered data from all mountain guides. Professional CVs were developed according to IFMGA format from this data laying the groundwork for formal certification pathways

Data collection teams travelled across the country and gathered data from all mountain guides.

2025

Big Win: National Insurance Policy revised for mountain guides and high-altitude workers. A land-mark step in protecting Pakistan’s high-altitude workforce and recognising the risks they face on every expedition

Data collection teams travelled across the country and gathered data from all mountain guides.

Nov 2025

KMGA officially launched in Skardu — Pakistan's first democratically elected national mountain guides association, representing guides, climbers, and high-altitude workers across the country.

Data collection teams travelled across the country and gathered data from all mountain guides.