Naila says ‘sheer will’ vital to achieve dreams

Encourages women to take part in mountaineering

ISLAMABAD:

Woman climber Naila Kiani who has become a trendsetter for Pakistani women in mountaineering wants to encourage females towards the sport, saying nothing is impossible if one has the 'sheer will' to achieve your dreams.

Naila, who had submitted eight peaks in two years, said still people were not that much aware of mountaineering.

"We need to be aware of the people of mountaineering as we have got a lot of talent in the country. We also need support from the private sector," she said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Naila, who was also the first Pakistani woman to ascend Broad Peak, complete the climb of all five 8,000-metre peaks in Pakistan, and scale eight 8,000-metre peaks worldwide, said she planned to complete all of the world's 14 highest peaks in the future.

Naila, who hails from Rawalpindi, said when a woman from Pindi who has no family background in mountaineering could submit the highest peaks, then other women can also do that.

"We need to put our focus on mountaineering if we want to succeed and improve in the sector. As compared to Nepal, we need to improve the mountaineering sector to benefit from it," she said.

Naila also lauded the Alpine Club of Pakistan for their support and was all-out praise for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for approving the conferment of the national civil award Sitara-e-Imtiaz for her, in recognition of her achievements.

Naila had summited the legendary Everest, the difficult K2, the commanding Lhotse, the perilous Annapurna, the elusive G1 and the G2, and the majestic Nanga Parbat.

Numerous mountaineers and adventure fans all over the world are inspired by Naila's unwavering resolve, unmatched abilities, and unwavering attitude. APP