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KHAPLU, Pakistan: A team of foreign climbers were on Wednesday due to launch a rescue mission for German double biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier, days after she was seriously injured by a rockfall on a Pakistani mountain.

The accident happened around midday on Monday at an altitude of 5,700 meters on Laila Peak in the Karakoram range, according to a statement from her team on her official social media sites.

Her climbing partner was able to sound the alarm after reaching safety.

“It was determined that a helicopter rescue is not possible,” Areeb Ahmed Mukhtar, a senior local official in Ghanche district, where the more than 6,000 meter (19,700 feet) mountain is located, told AFP.

“The conditions at the altitude where she was injured are extremely challenging, and a team of foreign climbers will launch a ground rescue mission today,” he added.

Shipton Trek & Tours Pakistan, which organized the expedition, confirmed the ground rescue by a team of four that includes three Americans and a German mountaineer.

The 31-year-old was “hit by falling rocks,” her team said on Tuesday, adding no one had yet been able to reach her due to the danger of further rockfalls and the site’s “remoteness.”

A helicopter managed to fly over the location and rescuers saw that “the experienced mountaineer is at least seriously injured,” it said.

“No signs of life were detected.”

Muhammad Ali, a local disaster management official, told AFP that weather conditions have been “extremely harsh” in the region for the past week, with rain, strong winds and thick clouds.

Dahlmeier, an experienced mountaineer, had been in the region since the end of June and had already ascended the Great Trango Tower.

The International Biathlon Union said in a statement it was “thinking of Dahlmeier and her family, hoping for good news to emerge soon.”

She has won seven world championship gold medals, and at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang she became the first female biathlete to win both the sprint and the pursuit at the same Games.

Dahlmeier retired from professional competition in 2019 at the age of 25.

She went on to become a commentator on biathlon events for German broadcaster ZDF, and also took up mountaineering.

She is a certified mountain and ski guide and an active member of the mountain rescue, according to her team.

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir called for development initiatives and their smooth execution in southwestern Balochistan, the country’s most volatile province, to address militant violence and ensure long-term stability in the province, according to a military statement on Wednesday.

Balochistan has seen a surge in separatist violence and coordinated attacks targeting security forces, foreign nationals and non-local commuters on highways and buses. The mineral-rich province borders Afghanistan and Iran and is central to high-profile infrastructure projects under the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), adding to its strategic significance and exposure to unrest.

The army chief made the comments while addressing participants of the 16th National Workshop Balochistan, a forum established in 2017 for the exchange of ideas related to the region, in Rawalpindi. The audience included parliamentarians, civil society representatives, civil servants, media professionals and youth leaders.

“The COAS highlighted the pivotal role of development initiatives in Balochistan, advocating for enhanced inter-agency cooperation and a cohesive national approach to propel provincial progress and national advancement,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in the statement.

Munir reiterated the military’s commitment to eliminating militancy and said violent extremism must be countered, while calling for a unified national response.

He also reiterated that India was sponsoring militant proxies to destabilize Balochistan, as he referred to “Fitna-al-Khawarij,” Pakistan’s official term for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and “Fitna-al-Hindustan,” used to describe the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and other separatist outfits.

The army chief maintained these actors were part of an Indian “hybrid war” strategy and would meet the same fate as the neighboring nuclear state itself , which Pakistan said was defeated in the four-day military conflict in May.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of fomenting unrest in Balochistan, allegations New Delhi denies.

Munir said, however, that such efforts had failed to shake the “deep-rooted patriotism” of the province’s people.

Separatist groups in Balochistan have long accused the Pakistani state of exploiting the province’s vast natural resources, ranging from gas and coal to copper and gold, without equitably sharing the benefits with local communities. They claim successive governments have prioritized extraction over development, leaving the region impoverished despite its mineral wealth.

These groups also allege widespread rights violations by the country’s security forces, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial detentions of suspected activists. Human rights organizations have also echoed some of these concerns. Pakistani authorities have, however, consistently rejected such accusations, maintaining that a significant number of development projects are underway to uplift Balochistan’s economy, improve infrastructure and expand access to education and health care.

Earlier this month, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said his administration was ready to reconcile with “disgruntled” ethnic Baloch elements. However, he also issued a warning that anyone found involved in militant violence would be dealt with “with iron hands.”