The body of a man missing for 28 years has been discovered in a melting glacier in Pakistan’s remote Kohistan region. A shepherd, identified as Omar Khan, came across the well-preserved remains, clothing still intact, in the Lady Valley, located in the country’s eastern mountains.“What I saw was unbelievable,” Omar was quoted as saying by the BBC. “The body was intact. The clothes were not even torn.”An ID card was found with the body bearing the name Naseeruddin, allowing police to identify him as a man who went missing in June 1997 after falling into a glacier crevasse in the area.Once police confirmed the body was that of Naseeruddin, locals came forward with additional information, Khan said. Naseeruddin, who was married with two children, was travelling on horseback with his brother on the day he disappeared. The two had reportedly left home due to a family dispute, as per the police, reports the BBC. His brother, who was with Naseeruddin during the 1997 incident, said they had chosen an unconventional mountain route to avoid possible threats, reports the Express Tribune. He recalled hearing gunfire on their return journey, and in an attempt to escape the attackers, Naseeruddin took refuge in an icy cave, never to be seen again. An extensive search was carried out at that time, but Naseeruddin could not be traced, and a symbolic funeral was held at the location. With the body finally recovered after 28 years, his brother is returning to Lady Valley to determine whether to lay the remains to rest there or bring them back to the family’s ancestral home.Reduced snowfall in the region has left glaciers more exposed to direct sunlight, accelerating the ice-melting process, highlighting how higher temperatures are speeding up glacial melt, reports the BBC.
