[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 76 (Thursday, June 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1132-E1133]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONGRATULATIONS AND GOD SPEED

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 5, 1997

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend a group of explorers from 
our Ninth Congressional District who are on the verge of an 
extraordinary accomplishment: becoming the first expeditionary group 
ever to traverse the length of the Indus River.
  Led by D.S. Amjad Hussain, professor of surgery at the Medical 
College of Ohio and a writer and photographer, this expeditionary team 
last year reached the headwaters of the Indus River in the Kailas 
Mountain range in western Tibet.
  This year, the group plans to complete the Ladakh segment of their 
expedition and will then become the only expedition in history to have 
covered the entire length of the Indus River.
  Other members of the expedition team from Toledo included: Qarie 
Hussain, a student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, 
England; Monie Hussain, a student at the University of Michigan; and, 
James Adray, a practicing attorney, along with his son, Sam, a high 
school student. The team was privileged to carry the flags of the 
United States, Pakistan, and the prestigious Explorers Club on their 
expedition.
  The Indus, one of the largest rivers in the world, arises in Tibet 
and winds 2,400 miles through Tibet, India, and Pakistan before 
emptying into the Arabian Sea near Karachi. It carries twice the annual 
flow of the Nile and three times that of the Tigris and Euphrates 
combined. Like those other great rivers, the Indus also cradled a 
glorious civilization along its banks as long as 5,000 years ago.
  From their base camp, the expedition team traveled on foot and by yak 
to reach the river's source. Despite mountain sickness due to the 
extremely high altitudes, the team also endured a blizzard while 
crossing the 18,500-foot Tseti Lachen pass. They also had to cross 
numerous rivers swollen with late summer rains while traveling on yaks.
  The team offered prayers of thankgiving when they arrived at Senge 
Kabob, 17,000 feet above sea level, a sacred site for Buddhists. Only 
two previous visits to this sacred site have been recorded.
  The team now has four difficult expeditions behind them, including a 
photography trip on or along the Indus and its surroundings and a 
2,000-mile trek in 1994 through the length of Pakistan. After 
completing the Ladakh segment later this year, the group will earn its 
place in the history books.
  Congratulations and Godspeed.

                               Team Indus

       Team Indus is a series of Indus river expeditions designed 
     to study and photograph the river and its inhabitants along 
     its entire length. In 1987 the team travelled on rafts from 
     Attock in the north to Karachi on the Arabian Sea in the 
     south for a distance of 1400 miles. During that expedition 
     the team also carried out depth survey of the river for 
     Planning Commission of the Government of Pakistan.
       During the second expedition in 1990, the team trekked the 
     river from Jaglot (near Gilgit) to Tarbela for a distance of 
     400 miles,

[[Page E1133]]

     part of it along the north-south Silk Route, now the 
     Karakoram Highway.
       In 1994, the team trekked the remaining part of the river 
     in Pakistan from the line of control in Baltistan to Jaglot 
     for a distance of 170 miles. On that expedition the team 
     carried the coveted flag of the Explorers Club.
       The team explored the headwaters of the river (called Senge 
     Kabob or the mouth of the lion in Tibetan) in the Kailas 
     mountain rangers in Western Tibet in July-August, 1996. The 
     team covered the river close to the point where it enters 
     Ladakh, India. On this expedition the team also carried the 
     flag of the Explorers club.
       Team Indus V, scheduled for 1997-98, will cover the 
     remaining 200 miles of the river in Ladakh.
       The team has already achieved a landmark in covering the 
     Indus River in its entirety in Pakistan and trekking to the 
     headwaters of the river in Tibet. With the completion of the 
     segment in Ladakh, Team Indus would be the first in history 
     to have accomplished trekking and photographing the entire 
     2400 miles of the Indus.
       Team Indus I, Attock to Karachi, December 1987. S. Amjad 
     Hussain, Maj. Syed Azam, S. Waqaar Hussain, Syed Azhar Ali 
     Shah, S. Sardar Hussain, Najamuddin, Tony Glinke, Bahu S. 
     Shaikh, Shehzad Nazir, Nasim Zafar Iqbal, and Ron Euton.
       Team Indus II, Jaglot To Tarbela, July 1990. S. Amjad 
     Hussain, Maj. Syed Azam, James Adray, S. Waqaar Hussain, S. 
     Osman Hussain, and Syed Azhar Ali Shah.
       Team Indus III, Line of Control to Jaglot, August 1994. S. 
     Amjad Hussain, Lt. Col. Syed Azam, S. Waqaar Hussain, S. 
     Osman Hussain, and Syed Azhar Ali Shah.
       Team Indus IV, Headwaters of Indus to near the Ladakh 
     border, July-August 1996. S. Amjad Hussain, Syed Azhar Ali 
     Shah, S. Waqaar Hussain, S. Osman Hussain, James Adray, and 
     Sam Adray.


     ARTICLES AND TELEVISION PROGRAMS ABOUT TEAM INDUS EXPEDITIONS

       Articles by S. Amjad Hussain:
       1. Adventure on the Indus, Toledo Magazine, April 9, 1988. 
     (Cover Story).
       2. People of Indus, Toledo Magazine, April 9, 1988.
       3. The Lost Civilization of the Indus, Toledo Magazine, May 
     28, 1988 (Cover Story).
       4. Adventure on the Indus, HUMSAFAR, November/December, 
     1988. (Cover Story).
       5. My 1400 Mile Journey Through 5000 Years of History, 
     Medical Economics, February 6, 1989.
       6. The Mound of the Dead, HAMSAFAR, May/June, 1990.
       7. A Day in the Life of Indus Valley Inhabitants, HUMSAFAR, 
     July/August, 1990. (Cover Story).
       8. A Journey to the roof of the World, Toledo Magazine, 
     January 20, 1991. (Cover Story).
       9.The People of the Hindu Kush Mountains, Toledo Magazine, 
     January 20, 1991.
       10. A Journey on the Roof of the World, The Explorers 
     Journal, Summer 1992. (Cover Story).
       11.Pilgrimage Turns Dream into Reality, Sunday Blade, Op-Ed 
     section. September 8, 1996. (Column).
       By Steve Pollick, Outdoors Editor, The Blade:
       12. Toledo Surgeon Operates as River Explorer, Sunday 
     Blade, July 7, 1996.
       Television Programs:
       1. Pakistan Television, Islamabad, Paristan. `INDUS RIVER 
     EXPEDITION 1987'' (1/2 hour interview). January 1988.
       2. Pakistan Television, Peshawar, Pakistan. `TEAM INDUS 
     EXPEDITIONS'' (1/2 hour interview). April 15, 1995.

     

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