Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan retracted an earlier notification that declared that covering up was mandatory for schoolgirls to avoid potential harassment incidents.

Khan, the KP CM, asked the education ministry to rescind the notification, saying that the education officer issued the order without taking prior permission from the provincial government.

Speaking to Geo News, KP's education secretary, Arshad Khan, said the provincial government will retract the notification early on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Peshawar's district administration had ordered "all the students to use Gown/Abaya or Chadar to veil/conceal/cover up their selves".

In the notification issued Peshawar District Officer Samina Ghani, schoolgirls were asked to cover up themselves "in order to protect them from any unethical incident".

Addressed to heads of schools, the notification stated that the matter "may be treated as most urgent and important".

The KP's adviser on education, Ziaullah Bangash, said the female students were harassed on the way to school.

In light of these events and to ensure safety of the students, observing purdah (veil) or covering up was declared mandatory, he added.