Meet Naila Kiani – first Pakistani woman to conquer Gasherbrum-II

SKARDU – A Dubai-based banker, who got a wedding photoshoot at the base camp of the world’s second tallest peak in 2018, has become the first female climber of Pakistan to summit Gasherbrum II.

Naila summited Gasherbrum-II – the world’s thirteenth highest mountain 8,000 last month. The daring mountaineer started her passion in July 2018. Her ‘dream wedding’ garnered a lot of attention on social media. Her pictures in a wedding dress with the 'savage mountain' in the background went viral and made her a social media sensation.

Meanwhile, she completed the recent expedition with young Pakistani climbers Sirbaz Khan and Ali Raza Sadpara who also raised the Pakistani flag atop the 8000m peak.

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Speaking with an international publication, she said “Allah chose me, and I scaled G-II”. Sharing her past experiences, she mentioned trekking to the K2 base camp and visited Gondogoro La, a 5,585-meter-high mountain pass 25 kilometers south of K2.

The Dubai-based banker mentioned that she had not scaled any peak and Gasherbrum -II was her first summit. She also revealed her boxing enthusiasm.

Narrating her story, she said she wanted to project a soft image of Pakistan through her adventures. As some of the factors that prevent foreign climbers and tourists from visiting our country is a lack of a positive image and I am trying my best to fix it in my own network of friends by carrying out different sports activities, she opined.