“She now holds the record as the fastest Pakistani"
Mountaineer Naila Kiani made history by becoming the first Pakistani woman to summit 11 8,000m peaks.
Naila achieved the feat after successfully climbing Mount Makalu.
Located in the Mahalangur range in the Himalayas, Makalu is the fifth-tallest mountain in the world, standing at 8,485 metres.
In a Facebook post, the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) wrote:
“Naila [Kiani] summits Makalu, becoming the first woman in Pakistan’s history to summit 11 x 8,000-metre peaks.
“She now holds the record as the fastest Pakistani — both male and female — to have summited 11 of the 8,000-metre peaks, accomplished in under three years.”
ACP Secretary Karrar Haidri said: “This remarkable feat also makes her the first Pakistani woman to have summited this incredibly difficult mountain.”
Karrar noted that “after a challenging climb through the night, Naila has achieved another historic milestone by successfully summiting Makalu” at approximately 9:35 am Nepal time (8:50 am Pakistan time).
He added: “Naila is grateful for all the prayers and wishes, and she gives special thanks to everyone.
“She also thanks Sherpa Gelgen Dai from Imagine Nepal, who has supported Naila every step of the way, making this achievement possible.”
Naila Kiani has several mountaineering feats to her name.
In April 2023, she became the first Pakistani woman to climb Nepal’s Annapurna, the world’s 10th-highest peak standing 8,091m tall.
The next month, she went on to summit Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, becoming the second Pakistani woman to do so after Samina Baig in 2013.
In July, Naila Kiani and Samina Baig attained the feat of becoming the first Pakistani women to climb the world’s ninth-highest peak, the 8,125m-tall Nanga Parbat.
The same month, she became the first Pakistani woman to summit Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain at 8,051m.
Months later, Naila and Sirbaz Khan became the first Pakistani duo to conquer the 8,201m-tall Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth-highest peak in China’s Tibet.
In a video, she said:
“I am sharing my achievements to show that no matter who you are… you can accomplish your dreams.”
She also shared her accolades, including being an aerospace engineer, an amateur boxer and a mother to two toddlers.
Emphasising that education was the key to her getting to where she is now, she also called on the prime minister and chief ministers to focus on girls’ education in Pakistan.
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