Naila Kiani becomes first Pak woman to summit Mount Manaslu in Nepal

KHAPLU: Naila Kiani has become the first Pakistani women to climb Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest mountain at 8,163 meters (26,781 feet) in west Nepal, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said on Thursday, The Arab News reported.

Kiani is the first and only Pakistani woman to summit nine peaks higher than 8,000 meters, including Broad Peak (8,047m), Annapurna (8,091m), K2 (8,611m), Lhotse (8,516m), Gasherbrum 1 (8,068m), Gasherbrum II (8,035m), Nanga Parbat (8,125m), and Mount Everest (8,849m).

“Naila Kiani has successfully reached the 8163-meter peak of Mount Manaslu in Nepal,” the Alpine Club said in a statement.

Kiani is a Pakistani banker living in Dubai and a mother of two. She received viral fame in 2018 after her wedding photos from K2 basecamp were widely shared on social media.

She received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s third-highest civilian award, for climbing Mount Everest successfully in May.

“Congratulations PAKISTAN.. Congratulations Naila…,” the climber’s X account said on Thursday morning.

“Never think that anything is impossible. I started mountaineering only two years ago,” Kiani told Arab News in an interview last month.

“I don’t have anybody in my family who has any connection with mountaineering, and within two years, I am the fastest among Pakistani males and females who climbed all Pakistani peaks in two years and eight overall mountains.”