Experts say the decline is due to climate disasters, regional security situation and a hike in climbing fees, which officials defend as a necessary step for environmental protection ‘We are doing our best to promote climbing, but we must also protect the mountains,’ says Iqbal Hussain, head of the Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism Department KARACHI, Pakistan  Pakistan’s famed northern peaks, long a magnet for climbers from across the globe, are facing a near-collapse in foreign arrivals this season.