Few people pass through the remote and mountainous region in the north of Pakistan.
The area is home to huge glaciers and is the point where the Himalayan, Hindukush and Karakorum mountain ranges meet.
The Kohistan region, however, has seen decreased snowfall in recent years due to climate change.
And with the glaciers in the area being exposed to more and more direct sunlight, they have started to disappear.
It was here, in a melting glacier in the so-called Lady Valley, that a shepherd stumbled across a body that had lain there undiscovered for 28 years.
The body, which was found on August 1, was remarkably well preserved – with the clothing intact and an ID card with the name Naseeruddin found alongside it.
Omar Khan, the shepherd who found the human remains on August 1, told BBC Urdu: ‘What I saw was unbelievable.
‘The body was intact. The clothes were not even torn.’
Family sources confirmed that Nasseruddin, a local man, had disappeared in June 1997 while he was travelling through the region with his brother.
He reportedly fell into a glacial crevasse along with his horse when he tried to hide from some attackers on the route in an icy cave.
An extensive search and rescue operation was launched for missing Nasseruddin but no trace of him was found.
Locals have told how prior to his disappearance Naseeruddin’s family had become embroiled in a violent family feud.
Gardezi, his younger brother, was killed in what was referred to as an honour-related dispute and the family were also suffering from legal troubles.
It is understood that Naseeruddin and his other brother Kaseeruddin had gone into hiding as a result of the row.
Speaking following the discovery of the body, Kaseeruddin said they had taken an ‘unconventional route’ through the mountains to avoid their enemies.
But after hearing gunshots during a snowstorm, Naseeruddin led his horse into an icy cave and was never seen alive again.
Kaseeruddin said he went into the cave to look for his brother and went back to get others from the area to help – but they never found him.
Experts have explained that the discovery of his body 30 years later shows how climate change has accelerated the process of glacial melt.
Prof Muhammad Bilal, head of the Department of Environment at Comsats University Islamabad, said that human bodies freeze fast in glaciers, in turn preventing decomposition.
He explained that mummification then takes place due to the lack of moisture and oxygen in the glacier.
