Five women police officers were appointed in the Khyber tribal district for the first time, a senior official said on Saturday.

Khyber, bordering Afghanistan, is one of the seven tribal districts, which has seen militancy for years and the appointment of women officers could be challenging.

Khyber District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Abbas Kulachi issued notifications about the appointment of women police officers, including four additional station house officers (SHOs) today.

“Appointment of women police officers is aimed at ensuring hundreds of thousands of women to have access to justice,” Kulachi said in a statement after he issued the notification.

“Women in merged districts have all capabilities and women belonging to all sections would be given opportunities to perform duties,” the DPO said.

Mehak Pervez Masih, a junior police officer was appointed as the additional station house officer (SHO) for Landi Kotal. She was previously working on general duty at Ali Masjid police station.

Lady Constable Naila Jabbar, who was on general duty at Bara police station, was appointed as additional SHO at Ali Majid police station.

Fatima Sameen Jan will serve as an additional SHO at Bara police station.

Lady Constable Nusrat will perform duties as an additional SHO at Jamrud police station.

Lastly, Lady Constable Shanza was appointed for general duty at police lines Khyber.

Tribal elder Malik Habib in North Waziristan told Dawn.com that no female police officer was ever appointed to work in the field in tribal areas, adding that they only worked in the education and health departments.

“Only women doctors and teachers work in the tribal areas,” Malik Habib said.

The outlawed Lashkar-i-Islam and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan have been active in Khyber, which was once a major supply route for US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan.