Pakistani mountaineer Naila Kiani on Sunday scaled the 8,485 meters Mount Makalu, one of the world’s highest mountains, becoming the first woman in the country’s history to summit 11 peaks above 8,000 metres.

Kiani added another feather to her cap as she climbed Mount Makalu throughout Saturday night to summit the world’s fifth highest peak in the world in the morning at 8,485 metres at around 8:50 am (PST).

“After a challenging climb through the night, Naila has achieved another historic milestone by successfully summiting Makalu, the fifth highest peak in the world at 8,485 meters, today [Sunday] at approximately 9:35 am Nepal local time [8:50 am Pakistan time],” Karrar Haidri, the secretary of Alpine Club of Pakistan, said in a statement.

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“This latest success highlights her exceptional endurance and determination. She now holds the record as the fastest Pakistani, both male and female, to have summited 11 of the 8,000-meter peaks, accomplished in under three years.”

Notably, in 2023 Naila Kiani became the second female mountaineer from Pakistan to summit Everest after Samina Baig, who did so in 2013 at the age of 23.

It is worth mentioning here that Naila is a banker by profession based in Dubai, an amateur boxer and a mother of two kids.

She first gained prominence after images of her wedding shoot at K2 Basecamp in 2018 circulated on social media.

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