In yet another milestone in her career, Major General Nigar Johar has become Pakistan's first female officer to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, the military's media wing said on Tuesday.

In a tweet, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar, said that the officer has also been appointed as the first female surgeon general of the Pakistan Army.

She hails from Panjpeer village, in Swabi district, the statement added.

In 2017, the newly promoted lieutenant general became the third woman officer in the history of the Pakistan Army to reach the rank of major general.

She is the daughter of Col Qadir, who served in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and is the niece of retired Maj Mohammad Aamir, a former Pakistan Army officer who served in the ISI as well.

Both her parents died in a car accident 30 years ago.

According to PID, not only is the newly promoted lieutenant general a doctor, but also a sharp shooter.

She completed her schooling from Presentation Convent Girls High School, Rawalpindi and graduated from Army Medical College in 1985.

In 2015, she received a Masters degree in public health from the University of Health Sciences, Lahore. She also has the honour of being the first woman officer to be given command of a unit/hospital of the armed forces.

'Powerful message for our girls'

Congratulating the officer on her promotion, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said that this sent a powerful message to girls and young women, "to aspire for the impossible in life".

PML-N's Ahsan Iqbal called the achievement a "leapfrog for Pakistani women, who are contributing in all areas of national development and security".

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said it was "great" to see the officer being promoted as the Pakistan Army's first lieutenant general.