KHAPLU, GILGIT-BALTISTAN: Prominent Pakistani women mountaineers Naila Kiani and Samina Baig on Sunday summited the country’s second-highest mountain, Nanga Parbat, making the former the first Pakistani woman climber to achieve the feat.
Nicknamed the “Killer Mountain,” Nanga Parbat stands at 8,125 meters (26,660 feet) and is recognized as the world’s ninth-highest peak and Pakistan’s second-highest. Several climbers have in the past died attempting to summit the towering mountain, among them Italian Daniele Nardi and Briton Tom Ballard who went missing and were later declared dead in 2019.
With her latest feat, Kiani became the first Pakistani woman to summit the peak and the first Pakistani female climber to summit seven out of the 14 eight-thousander mountains in the world. Baig and Kiani achieve the feat with over a dozen national and international climbers who summited Nanga Parbat.
“Today on July 2, 2023, at 10:18 a.m., Naila Kiani scaled the majestic Nanga Parbat, standing tall at an inspirational height of the eight-thousander,” Karrar Haidri, the secretary-general of the Alpine Club of Pakistan — a non-government organization that promotes mountaineering — said in a statement.
“Naila has now ascended seven of the enormous 8,000-meter peaks on the planet, establishing her as one of the most talented climbers of our time,” Haidri added.
Speaking to Arab News, Haideri said:
“Samina Baig and Naila Kiani are both strong climbers and they are making the name of our country proud.”
Prior to this feat, Kiani has summited the legendary Mount Everest, the difficult K2, the commanding Lhotse, the perilous Annapurna, the elusive G1, and the G2 in Pakistan.
With her latest feat, Baig has now summited three out of the 14 eight-thousanders in the world. According to Haidri, Wajid Ullah Nagri and ten other international climbers summited Nanga Parbat on Sunday with Baig and Kiani.
“They overcame hazardous terrain, severe weather, and a plethora of challenges thanks to their undying determination, talent, and teamwork,” he said. “Their success serves as both a source of motivation for aspirant climbers and proof of the unflappable spirit of human endeavor,” the statement added.
Last month, 23 climbers from Norway, Russia, the United States, Switzerland, France, Turkiye, Mexico, Nepal and Pakistan summited Nanga Parbat.
Pakistani women climbers Naila Kiani, Samina Baig summit ‘Killer Mountain’ Nanga Parbat
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Pakistani women climbers Naila Kiani, Samina Baig summit ‘Killer Mountain’ Nanga Parbat
- Naila Kiani becomes first Pakistani woman to summit seven out of 14 eight-thousander mountains
- Kiani and Samina Baig achieve summit Nanga Parbat with other a dozen local, international climbers
Pakistan vaccinates over 42 million children during first anti-polio drive this year
- Last year, Pakistan reported 31 polio cases, a significant drop from 74 cases in 2024
- Authorities appeal to parents to ensure all children below five years are vaccinated
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani health authorities have vaccinated more than 42 million children in an ongoing anti-polio drive this week, the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said on Friday.
Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated vaccination for every child under five.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic. Last year, Pakistan reported 31 polio cases, a significant drop from 74 cases in 2024.
Authorities on Feb. 2 began the first anti-polio drive of this year which will continue till Feb. 8 and aims to reach 45.4 million children, aged below five, across the South Asian country.
“The first national polio campaign of 2026 continues for the fifth day across the country,” the NEOC said on Friday. “Vaccination of more than 42.2 million children across the country has been completed in four days.”
Of these 42.2 million, more than 22.4 million children have been vaccinated in Punjab, 9.585 million in Sindh, 6.764 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and over 2 million children have been inoculated in Balochistan.
It said more than 454,000 children were vaccinated in the federal capital of Islamabad, 261,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and over 673,000 in Azad Kashmir.
“More than 400,000 polio workers are going door to door to administer polio drops to children,” the NEOC statement read. “Parents and communities are appealed to cooperate fully with polio workers.”
Another campaign is being simultaneously run in Afghanistan, according to the NEOC.
Pakistan reported six cases in 2023 and only one in 2021, but the country saw a sharp resurgence in 2024.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994, but efforts to eradicate the virus have been repeatedly undermined by vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.
Militant groups have also frequently targeted polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them, often resulting in deadly at
