Pakistan’s mountaineering community has been rocked by controversy after the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) officially declared recent summit claims on Spantik Peak to be false.
According to documents available online, the claim, allegedly made by Karachi-based climber and influencer Sohaniya Babar along with Amina Shigri initially attracted attention as Sohaniya presented herself as the first woman from Sindh to climb the 7,027m tall mountain.
On Instagram, she celebrated the alleged feat with motivational captions and videos, declaring: “This summit is for every girl who dares to dream beyond limits.”
Seasoned professionals were quick to challenge her claims, citing the photos shared online as the major evidence. The photos shared by the two climbers lacked any clear summit features, raising immediate doubts within the climbing community.
Genuine summit photos show climbers moving up a sharp, narrow ridge with Malubiting clearly visible in the background. In contrast, the images posted by the two women depict a wide, flat plateau rather than the actual pointed summit ridge. Experts have confirmed these shots were taken from the base of the summit ridge, not the peak itself.
The most decisive evidence came from Spanish climber Mandy Placeres, who successfully summited Spantik on August 13. In testimony provided to ACP, he confirmed passing the Pakistani climbers well below the summit and insisted that none of them reached the top. According to him, Babar allegedly turned back near Camp 2 while Shigri stopped at Camp 3.
This was not the first time Sohaniya Babar’s mountaineering credibility came under scrutiny in Pakistan. Just last year, she had claimed to summit Khusargang Peak, a claim many believe to be false. With the Spantik episode now confirmed as fabricated, questions are mounting over repeated attempts to mislead the public.
Pakistani climber and whistleblower Muhammad Bilal revealed that he and his colleagues had been questioning the claim from the beginning, demanding proof to uphold the integrity of the sport.
“We will not let Pakistan’s reputation be sacrificed at the altar of lies. Today, after our constant struggle, ACP has officially confirmed that these claims were false.”
Interestingly, Eventica Travels, which had been linked with the expedition, publicly distanced itself from the episode. However, both Babar and Shigri have so far allegedly refused to apologize to the public for misleading the nation.
The Alpine Club has now warned that such actions will carry consequences: bans, fines, and penalties not only for climbers but also for operators and support staff who back false claims.
Pakistan’s mountaineering community has welcomed ACP’s stance. Shehroze Kashif, the youngest climber to scale all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, praised the decision as a turning point, saying:
“It’s about time ACP became more active. Strong steps like this will help protect the future of our adventure tourism.”
Often seen as one of the “easier” 7,000-meter peaks in the Karakoram for mountaineering enthusiasts in Pakistan and abroad, Spantik is still a serious challenge. The three-day approach trek from Arandu village leads to a long, demanding summit ridge. Mistakes can be fatal: just last year, three Japanese climbers lost their lives on the mountain.
The Spantik scandal is now a test case for Pakistan’s mountaineering credibility. The silence of the climbers involved raises bigger questions: Will accountability become the new norm, or will false glory continue to undermine the nation’s hard-earned respect in the climbing world?
Stay Connected with ProPakistani
Get the latest sports news, match updates, and player stories wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.
I think you guys just published the story from one sided.You even know his actual name and made a mistake on writing such story first you should do proper reporting by covering the whole story and you should hear that mountaineer remarks about it don’t jump to any conclusion it’s all propaganda Alpine club first post that both female mountaineers did their summit and after that they edit the post and dragging their dirty politics in it.First they owned that Amina Shigari did summit but when she spoke the truth and accepted that Sohniya Also did the summit Mr Ayaz Shigari also declare her summit null and void and tag them as a cheater it’s an absolute personal grudges about 8 to 10 people and now alpine club is doing politics in that too.Before rushing to post an article as an responsible journalist you should hear both parties not just alpine club and whatever you guys hear that u should post thanks.
And for the records Sohniya Baba summit Spantik Peak fair and square it’s their politics they’re not giving their photograph which was taken their and we’re unable to understand how you guys post a story without getting a prospective from both side and after reading this article I think writer of this article was in such a hurry that she didn’t even know her actual name and made such mistake to publish article in a jiffy.