Pakistani climber Naila Kiani on Thursday made history by becoming the first Pakistani woman to scale the eighth tallest mountain in the world, Manaslu.
This is the ninth mountain taller than 8,000 metres, which she has summitted in her mountaineering career thus far, making her the most prolific Pakistani female mountaineer.
Kiani's summit comes a day after Shehroze Kashif became the first Pakistani to scale the 8,163 metres Manaslu and become the youngest-ever climber to complete his ascent of 12 mountains taller than 8,000 metres.
Kiani scaled the mountain after completing a high-altitude acclimatisation rotation.
In a statement by the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Kiani's feat was hailed as trailblazing.
"We are proud of this hero who is strong and brave. Congratulations," said Karrar Haidri, the secretary of the Alpine Club.
"As the first and only Pakistani woman to summit nine peaks rising beyond 8,000 metres in elevation, Kiani is a trailblazer," he said, adding that the feat takes her another step closer to realising the dream of climbing all 14 mountains that are taller than 8,000 metres and become the first Pakistani woman to do so.
Among the peaks she has scaled thus far include the world's highest peaks, such as Broad Peak (8,047m), Annapurna (8,091m), K2 (8,611m), Lhotse (8,516m), Gasherbrum 1 (8,068m), Gasherbrum II (8,035m), Nanga Parbat (8,125m), and Mount Everest (8,849m), demonstrating her extraordinary mountaineering abilities.
After climbing Mount Everest successfully in May, she was awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's third-highest civilian award.