Jehangir Karamat

Jehangir Karamat graduated from the Pakistan Military Academy in 1961 and served in the wars with India in 1965 and 1971. An armored corps officer, he later commanded a brigade in Saudi Arabia, directed military operations at army headquarters, and became a corps commander and chief of general staff. His professional education included Pakistan’s staff and defense colleges, Quaid-i-Azam University, and the US Army Command and General Staff College. ^{1, 2}

Karamat became chief of army staff in 1996 and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee in 1997. In October 1998, after publicly proposing a National Security Council and calling for an end to political conflict, he resigned amid controversy over the military’s role in government. Nawaz Sharif appointed Pervez Musharraf to replace him. ^{2, 3}

He subsequently taught at the National Defence University and joined Brookings as a visiting fellow in 2000, working with its South Asia project. Earlier, he had participated in the 1990–91 India–Pakistan talks. ^{1, 2}

Karamat returned to Washington as ambassador in 2004 and served until 2006. After the October 2005 earthquake, he received President George W. Bush at the Pakistani embassy, where Bush signed a condolence book and affirmed American humanitarian and military assistance. Karamat’s later institutional work included advising the Islamabad Policy Research Institute and participating in the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network. ^{2, 4}