Nigar Johar to oversee health affairs, Samar Bilour information in KP advisory council

The federal government on Sunday formed an 11-member technocratic advisory council to assist Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi in running the province following the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule.

The council will help the governor perform the functions of the provincial government on behalf of the federal government.

Among its members is retired Lt Gen Nigar Johar Khan, the first woman in Pakistan Army history to attain the rank of lieutenant general. Her life and career were also depicted in the Pakistani television film Aik Hai Nigar.

Johar graduated from Army Medical College and holds an MCPS qualification in family medicine, an MSc in advanced medical administration and a master’s degree in public health. She has also served as the national instructor for hospital preparedness in emergencies.

She was the first woman to command an army hospital when she headed Combined Military Hospital Jhelum as a brigadier. At the time of her promotion to lieutenant general, she was commanding Military Hospital Rawalpindi.

Her honours include the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Military), the Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal for meritorious services in the Army Medical Corps, awarded by the prime minister, and the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, which she received earlier this year.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Samar Haroon Bilour, a former member of the KP Assembly, has been appointed adviser on information and broadcasting.