LAHORE – Pakistan’s woman climber Naila Kiani will embark on Tuesday on the awe-inspiring expedition to attempt 8,126-metre Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth highest mountain.
“I will be leaving Islamabad today to climb the majestic Nanga Parbat. I know it is a challenging task but I feel myself fully prepared to conquer the peak,” Naila said. With a death probability of 21%, Nanga Parbat, which is located in Diamer, Gilgit-Baltistan, continues to claim its place in the top five most dangerous mountains in the world. Till now 85 of the climbers have died while attempting it.
Last month, Naila etched her name in history when she first successfully scaled Mt Everest (8848m), the world’s tallest peak, and then Mount Lhotse (8,516m), the fourth-highest mountain in the world. Climbing Nanga Parbat will mean she will become Pakistan’s fastest woman to ascend seven peaks higher than 8,000 metres.
A mother of two kids, Naila is a Dubai-based Pakistani banker and an amateur boxer. She first rose to prominence after images of her wedding shoot at K2 Base Camp in 2018 circulated on social media.
She summited Gasherbrum-II (8,035m) in 2021, Gasherbrum-I (8,068m) and K2 (8611) in July 2022, and Annapurna (8,091m) in 2023. She climbed K2, the world’s second tallest peak shortly after Samina Baig, who was the first Pakistani woman to achieve the feat.
