Jehangir Karamat
Template:Short description Template:Use Pakistani English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox officeholder
General Jehangir Karamat Template:Post-nominals (Template:Langx ; born 20 February 1941) is a Pakistani retired military officer, diplomat, public intellectual, and a former professor of political science at the National Defense University.<ref name="ISPR (Army)" /> Prior to serving as a Chief of Army Staff, he also served as the 9th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1997 to 1998.<ref name="Free Press">Template:Cite book</ref>
After joining the Pakistan Army in 1958, he entered in the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, and passed out in 1961 to later serve in the combat in conflicts with India in 1965 and in 1971. In 1995, he came into national prominence after he notably exposed the attempted coup d'état against Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and eventually appointed as an army chief and later Chairman joint chiefs. His tenure is regarded as his pivotal role in enhancing the democracy and the civilian control when he staunchly backed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's authorisation of atomic-testing programme in 1998.<ref name="Stanford University Press" />
On 6 October 1998, Karamat was forcibly relieved from his four-star commands by Prime minister Nawaz Sharif over a disagreement on national security and reforms of the intelligence community.<ref name="Harvard University Press" /> He is also one of very few army generals in the military history of Pakistan to have resigned over a disagreement with the civilian authorities.<ref name="Macmillan [u.a.]" />
After his resignation, he accepted the professorship at the Stanford University in California and appointed as to head Pakistan's diplomatic mission as an Ambassador but was later removed due to strong advocacy for democracy.
Karamat has been credited for foresight prediction of the dangers of unbalanced civil-military relations and the rise of foreign-supported homegrown terrorism in the country.<ref name="Harvard University Press"/> Many of his recommendations on national security eventually became part of counterterrorism policy by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2013.<ref name="Harvard University Press"/>
Early life and education
Jehangir Karamat was born on 20 February 1941 in Karachi, Sindh in British Indian Empire, into a Pashtun Kakazai<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> family who initially hailed from Montgomery in Punjab (now Sahiwal, Punjab).<ref name="Deutsches Orient-Institut, 1996">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
His father, Ahmad Karamat, was an officer in the Indian Civil Service with the Indian government who would later embarked his career as a bureaucrat in the Government of Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947.<ref name="Economist Publications, 1995">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="The News International, 1996">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
After educating and graduating from the St. Patrick's High School in Karachi in 1958, Karamat joined the Pakistan Army when accepting at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Kakul in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.<ref name="St Patrick's High School">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1961, Karamat gained commissioned as 2nd-Lt in the 13th Lancers of the Corps of Armoured.<ref name="Pakistan Army Museum">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1969, Capt. Karamat was directed to attend the Command and Staff College in Quetta where he was noted for his intellect and competence at every level of courses he took as required in the curriculum.Template:Rp<ref name="Partridge Pub"/> In 1971, Capt. Karamat graduated and qualified as the psc.<ref name="ISPR (Army)">Template:Cite web</ref>
After the third war with India in 1971, Major Karamat was one of the last military officers who were sent to the United States to study at the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.Template:Rp<ref name="Springer, Aslan (2017)">Template:Cite book</ref>
Upon his graduation from the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College, Major Karamat was then directed to attend the National Defence University where he graduated and gained the MSc in the International Relations in 1976–77.<ref>Constance Hale. "International Hallway Dedication Ceremony" Template:Webarchive U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 14 September 2000</ref> In 1976, Karamat completed his MSc in International Relations from there; and following his return, Karamat completed his master's programme at the National Defence University.<ref name=Spearhead>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1978–80, Major Karamat attained the MSc in War studies where his master's thesis argued and enlightened on the failure of performance of armed forces in third war with India 1971.<ref name="Macmillan [u.a.]">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Brooklyn Institute">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Partridge Pub">Template:Cite book</ref>
Military career
During the Indo-Pakistani wars
In 1963, Lt. Karamat was posted in his Armoured Corps to initially commanding a formation of main battle tanks.<ref name="Army Education Publishing House, Army Education Directorate GHQ">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1965, Lt. Karamat commanded an infantry platoon during the second war with India in the Akhnur Sector in the Indian-administered Kashmir.Template:Rp<ref name="Pakistan & Gulf Economist, 1995">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Oxford University Press">Template:Cite book</ref> Lt. Karamat's platoon was the first unit that had penetrated Template:Convert into the enemy territory, which encouraged backup military companies to move forward into the enemy territory.<ref name="Defence Journal, 1999"/> In this war performance, the 13th Lancers had suffered death of fourteen soldiers, including three officers, while twenty eight were wounded.<ref name="Oxford University Press"/> For this action, the 13th Lancers was awarded the battle honour, Dewa— Chumb and Jaurian of 1965, and was also awarded the title of The Spearhead Regiment. <ref name="Defence Journal, 1999">Template:Cite web</ref> Although the 1965 war ended in a stalemate, his regiment’s performance was exemplary.
He progressed well in the army, eventually promoted to captain in 1966; and elevated as major in 1971.<ref name="Oup Pakistan"/> In 1971, Major Karamat commanded the company of the Aromoured Corps on the Western Front of the third war with India, defending the territories of Punjab, Pakistan against the approaching Indian Army.<ref name="Oup Pakistan">Template:Cite book</ref>
During this time, Maj. Karamat was the commanding officer in the 15th Lancers attached to the Baloch Regiment, along with the 13th Lancers that was fighting in the Shakargarh area of Sialkot Sector, which is now known as Battle of Barapind.<ref name="Strategicus and Tacticus">Template:Cite book</ref> The regiment was awarded battle honour of Bara Pind 1971.<ref name="Work published by then-Brigadier J. Karamat at the Inspector General Training and Evaluation Branch, General Headquarters">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp
Staff and war appointments
In 1979–80, Lt-Col. Karamat was posted as an instructor at the Armed Forces War College (afwc) of the National Defence University (NDU), instructing on courses War studies.Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Pakistan Army Museum" /> In 1981–83, Col. Karamat was moved at the Air War College, and did not take participation in the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan during his teaching assignments beforing promoting as one-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army.<ref name="Penguin Press">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1983–88, Brig. Karamat was appointed officer commanding of the Pakistan Armed Forces–Middle East Command, consisting of the joint armed branches in the Saudi Arabia.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">Template:Cite book</ref> Initially stationed to cover the area of responsibility of Tabuk and Khamis Mushait in Saudi Arabia, Brig. Karamat Pakistan Armed Forces–Arab Contingent during the height of the Iran–Iraq War, protecting the territorial sovereignty of the Saudi Arabia.Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Rp<ref name="Brookings Institution Press, Cohen">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1988, Brig. Karamat returned from his combat duty, promoting to the two-star rank assignment at the Army GHQ.Template:Rp<ref name="Partridge Publishing, Bhattacharya">Template:Cite book</ref> From 1988 to 1991, Major-General Karamat served as the DGl of the Directorate-General of the Military Operations (DGMO), where he was credited with playing a crucial role in advancing the fighting capabilities of the Pakistan Army while he planned numerous military exercises for Pakistan Army, and reviewed the contingency operations in Kargil sector.Template:Rp<ref name="Cambridge University Press, Lavoy">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1991, Maj-Gen. Karamat was appointed as Director-General of the Pakistan Army Rangers in Sindh but this appointment was short-lived when he was promoted to the three-star rank in 1992.<ref name="Strategicus and Tacticus" /><ref name="Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1992, Lieutenant-General Karamat was appointed as field command of the II Strike Corps, stationed in Multan, which he commanded until 1994.<ref name="Tranquebar Press">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1994, Lt-Gen. Karamat was eventually elevated as the Chief of General Staff (CGS) at the Army GHQ under then-chief of army staff General Abdul Waheed Kakar.<ref name="Tranquebar Press" /> From 1993 to 1996, Karamat continued to serve as honorary Colonel Commandant, and then Colonel-in-Chief—both ceremonial posts—of the Armoured Corps from 1996 to 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1995, Lt-Gen. Karamat rose to public prominence when he had the Military Intelligence (MI) to infiltrate within the Pakistan Army to apprehend the rogue culprits for attempting a coup d'état.<ref name="Tranquebar Press" /> Acting under orders from the General Karamat, DG MI Major-General Ali Kuli Khan monitored the activities of Major-General Zaheerul Islam Abbasi who himself was posted at the Army GHQ.<ref name="Tranquebar Press" /> The MI tapped the conversations and tracked down the culprits behind the coup.<ref name="Tranquebar Press" /> Upon revelation, Lieutenant-General Karamat forwarded the case and facilitated the high-ranking joint JAG court hearings at the specified military courts, and convened many proceedings while the hearings were heard by the military judges led by a Vice-Admiral.<ref name="Routledge. 2007">Template:Cite book</ref> His actions were widely perceived in the country, and for his efforts, General Karamat was conferred with national honours in public conventions and state gatherings.<ref name="Routledge. 2007" />
Chief of Army Staff
After approving the retirement papers of General Kakar, Lieutenant-General Karamat was appointed the Chief of Army Staff by Prime Minister Benazir who approved the paperwork for this appointment on 18 December 1995.<ref name="A.P.H. Publ.">Template:Cite book</ref> As per Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's approval, President Farooq Leghari confirmed the promotion of Lieutenant-General Karamat to the four-star rank and was appointed as the Chief of Army Staff when General Kakar was due to retire on 12 January 1996.<ref name="A.P.H. Publ."/>
At the time of his promotion, he was the senior most general at that time, and therefore at promotion to four-star general, he superseded no one.<ref>Ihtashamul Haque. "Karamat named COAS" Daily Dawn, 12 December 1995</ref> At the time of his promotion, there were four senior generals in the race to replace Kakar as Chief of Army Staff: Lieutenant-General Jehangir Karamat, chief of general staff (CGS); Lieutenant-General Nasir Akhtar, quartermaster general (QMG); Lieutenant-General Muhammad Tariq, inspector-general training and evaluation (IGT&E) at the GHQ; and Lieutenant-General Javed Ashraf Qazi, commander XXX Corps stationed in Gujranwala.<ref>Shuja Nawaz. Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Oxford University Press, 2008)</ref> As Chief of Army Staff, General Karamat tried to work with the Prime minister and President at once, but soon came to understand that the misconducts of politicians and bureaucrats would eventually lead to the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto's final government.<ref name="Taylor and Francis-e-Library">Template:Cite book</ref>
General Karamat reached to then-Speaker of the National Assembly Yousaf Raza Gillani and "leaked" an intelligence information and tried convincing Benazir Bhutto and President Leghari to resolve their issues, and emphasised to focus on good governance. At one point, General Karamat wrote:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
In my opinion, if we have to repeat past events then we must understand that Military leaders can pressurize only up to a certain point. Beyond that, their own position starts getting undermined because the military is after all a mirror image of the society from which it is drawn.{{#if:|
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Chairman of Joint Chiefs
In 1997, Chairman joint chiefs Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze Khan was due retirement. On immediate basis, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appeared in news channels to confirmed General Karamat as the new Chairman joint chiefs.<ref name="Authorhouse">Template:Cite book</ref> The appointment was met no resistance in the military, and General Karamat appointed as Chairman joint chiefs; he supersedes no one.
General Karamat drove Pakistan Armed Forces to focus on more professional duties rather than playing politics.<ref name="Authorhouse"/> Karamat worked on integrating Pakistan's military on a common platform, and had his staff worked on inter-services coordination in the battlefield.<ref name="Kalpaz Publ.">Template:Cite book</ref> Karamat strengthened the joint work coordination and joint logistics of the military at the war time situations, resolving many issues that would hamper the performances of the inter-services in the war or peacetime situations.<ref name="Yale University Press"/><ref name="Brookings Inst. Press">Template:Cite book</ref>
As an aftermath of India's nuclear tests in 1998, General Karamat acted as principal military adviser to the government, aiding the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on military platform.<ref name="United States Institute of Peace">Template:Cite book</ref> At the telephonic meeting with the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, President Bill Clinton offered lucrative aid to Pakistan for not testing its devices; Prime Minister Sharif's response was inconclusive. President Bill Clinton described the meeting with the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Strobe Talbott: "You can almost hear the guy [Sharif] wringing his hands and sweating."<ref name="United States Institute of Peace"/>
With requests made by Strobe Talbott CENTCOM commander, General Anthony Zinni and US Chairman Joint chiefs General Henry Shelton, met with General Karamat to withdraw the decision to conduct nuclear test.<ref name="United States Institute of Peace"/> Zinni'e meeting with Karamat was described by Strobe Talbott as less contentious. General Karamat and General Zinni were able to draw "soldier–to–soldier" bond.<ref name="United States Institute of Peace"/> General Karamat made it clear that the final decision would be carried out by the civilian government.<ref name="United States Institute of Peace"/> At the NSC cabinet meeting, the Pakistani government, military, scientific, and civilian officials were participating in a debate, broadening, and complicating the decision-making process.<ref name="United States Institute of Peace"/> Although, General Karamat debated towards presenting the national security and military point of view, the final decision was left on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's say.<ref name="United States Institute of Peace"/>
After the decision was made, General Karamat was notified of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's decision and asked the military to be stand-by orders. After providing the joint military logistics, the nuclear tests were eventually carried out on 28 May 1998, as Chagai-I, and on 30 May 1998 as codename: Chagai-II.<ref name="The Nation, 1998">Template:Cite news</ref> As dawn broke over the Chagai mountains, Pakistan became the world's seventh nuclear power.<ref name="Yale University Press">Template:Cite book</ref>
Removal from Chairman joint chiefs
As the nuclear tests were conducted, there was a strong feelings in the military all together that any concession to India on Kashmir policy and other related issues would lead to a decline in the prestige and standing of the armed forces. After the failure to pass the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution, there were concerns raised by Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Peoples Party on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's absolute control over the politics, national security, and foreign policy.<ref name="Tribune India,1998">Template:Cite news</ref>
On 6 October 1998, General Karamat who lectured at the Naval War College in Karachi on the civic-military relations and presented the idea on reestablishing the official National Security Council (NSC) where military could have representation in the country's politics.<ref name="Times Megazine, 1998">Template:Cite news</ref> General Karamat openly spoke on the role of the internal intelligences, such as FIA and IB, carrying out vendettas-like operations against political opponents and insecurity-driven and expedient policies while Pakistan capsized, at the behest of the politicians.<ref name="Times Megazine, 1998"/> Prime Minister Sharif and his cabinet members perceived this idea as Chairman joint chiefs's interference in national politics, therefore Sharif forced to resign Karamat when he criticised Pakistan's political leadership and advocated a National Security Council that would give the military a constitutional role in running the country, similar to Turkey's.<ref name="Owen Bennett-Jones">.Template:Cite news</ref> In 1998, Prime Minister Sharif decided to relieve General Karamat from the chairmanship of joint chiefs, eventually having him tender his resignation at the Prime Minister's Secretariat.
The relief of the famous and famed general by the popular politician led to a storm of public controversy.<ref name="Owen Bennett-Jones"/><ref name="Oxford University Press, 2009">Aziz, PhD (Economics), Sartaj (2009) [2009], Between dreams and realities: some milestones in Pakistan's history (Illustrated ed.), Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 408, Template:ISBN</ref> Many influential ministers and advisers in Prime Minister Sharif's circle saw this decision as "ill-considered" and "blunder" made by the Prime Minister.<ref name="Stanford University Press">Template:Cite book</ref> At the military, Admiral Fasih Bokhari (Chief of Naval Staff at that time) criticized General Karamat for resigning but Karamat defended his actions as "right thing" to do as he lost the confidence of a constitutionally and popularly elected Prime Minister.<ref name="Brookings Institution Press, 2004">Template:Cite book</ref>
As General Karamat received a full guard of honour retirement in a colorful ceremony as Chairman joint chiefs and chief of army staff, Prime Minister Sharif's mandate plummeted and his popularity waned as the majority of the public disapproved of the decision to relieve Karamat.<ref name="Brookings Institution Press, 2004"/> Prime Minister Sharif's further suffered with wide public disapproval after appointing much-junior General Pervez Musharraf at the both capacity, overruling the Admiral Bokhari's turn as the Chairman joint chiefs.<ref name="Brookings Institution Press, 2004"/> In 1999, Musharraf's unilateral initiation of the Kargil war against India nearly pushed Pakistan and India to the brink of an all-out war between the two Nuclear states. Eventually, in the same year, Musharraf staged a successful coup d'état and overthrew Prime Minister Sharif.<ref name="APH Pub. Corp.">Template:Cite book</ref>
Upon winning the general elections in 2013, Prime Minister Sharif did exactly what General Karamat had called for; first reestablishing the NSC with military gaining representation in the country's politics; and further making more reforms in intelligence community.<ref name="Harvard University Press">Template:Cite book</ref>
Academic career
Before elevating to four-star assignments, General Karamat was the full tenured professor of the Political science at the National Defense University and held the chair of military science at the Armed Forces War College.<ref name=Spearhead /> Among his notable students included Pervez Musharraf, Ali Kuli Khan, Fasih Bokhari and Abdul Aziz Mirza who studied under his guidance. Karamat had significance influence on Bokhari and Musharraf's philosophy and critical thinking.<ref name="Free Press" />
In 2000, Karamat accepted the professorship of War studies at the CISAC Institute of the Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States.<ref name="Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies" /> In addition, he was selected as a scholar and awarded research associateship on civil military relations at the Brookings Institution based in Washington, D.C., United States.<ref name="Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies" /> In 2001, Karamat joined the United Nations (UN) and was a part of the area study on Afghanistan.<ref name="Daily Times, 2004">Template:Cite news</ref> Thereafter, Karamat joined the influential Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) as the chairman of the board of governors.<ref name="Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies" />
Later career
Ambassador to the United States
In 2004, Karamat was first mentioned and named for the appointment as the Pakistan Ambassador to the United States. His nomination came after the outgoing Pakistan Ambassador, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, termed was due expired. On 23 September 2004, Pakistan Ambassador Qazi was appointed by then-Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq.<ref name="The Hindu, 2004">Template:Cite news</ref> On 10 December 2004, Karamat presented his credentials to President George W. Bush.<ref name="Daily Times, Washington">Template:Cite news</ref>
On 23 March 2006, Pakistani news media reported that Ambassador Karamat was to be replaced by retired Major General Mahmud Ali Durrani. The reports further stated Ambassador Karamat, who took his post on a two-year contract, would be returning home after only a year and a half.<ref>Khalid Hasan. 'Durrani in, Karamat out' Daily Times, 23 March 2006</ref> These speculations were confirmed by the Foreign Office (FO) and noted that "Karamat will not be in the reception line at the Chaklala Airbase to welcome President George Bush.<ref name="Dawn News, 2006">Template:Cite news</ref>
While his stint as Pakistan Ambassador, Karamat made the pro-democracy statements at the different Pakistani American gatherings, while passing critics to President Musharraf's style of running the civilian government.<ref name="Pakistan Weekly, 2006"/> In private, Karamat confided in Washington based U.S. journalist that "General Musharraf had made up this story to create wedge between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and him to get him fired in 1998."<ref name="Pakistan Weekly, 2006">Template:Cite news</ref>
Founding the Spearhead Research think tank
After his ambassadorship, General Karamat founded a socio-political policy and analysis institute, Spearhead Research, which focuses on social, economic, military and political issues concerning Pakistan and Afghanistan. General Karamat is the director and contributor to the Spearhead Research Institute.
Writings
Jehangir Karamat has written extensively on national security, civil-military relations, and strategic policy in Pakistan and South Asia. His notable works include:
"Sustained Political Progress: The Supportive Role of the Military" – In this essay, published as a book chapter in Pakistan at Seventy: A Handbook on Developments in Politics, Economy and Society (2018), Karamat discusses the role of the military in facilitating political stability and democratic consolidation in Pakistan.<ref name="PakistanAtSeventy">Template:Cite book</ref>
"Missile Acquisition by Pakistan: Military Strategic Imperatives" – An article published in the journal South Asian Survey in 2004, where Karamat analyzes the military and strategic logic behind Pakistan's missile development and its implications for regional deterrence.<ref name="MissileSurvey">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Guest columns for Force India – Karamat contributed multiple opinion pieces to the Indian defense monthly magazine Force India in 2003, covering issues such as regional security, Indo-Pak relations, and civil-military dynamics. Some of his articles include "Dangers of Complacency", "The Peace Primer", "The Burden of Power", and "Through the Dusty Looking Glass".<ref name="ForceIndia">Template:Cite web</ref>
Awards and decorations
| Nishan-e-Imtiaz
(Order of Excellence) |
Hilal-e-Imtiaz
(Crescent of Excellence) |
Tamgha-e-Basalat
(Medal of Bravery) |
Sitara-e-Harb 1965 War
(War Star 1965) |
| Sitara-e-Harb 1971 War
(War Star 1971) |
Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War
(War Medal 1965) |
Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War
(War Medal 1971) |
Tamgha-e-Baqa
1998 |
| 10 Years Service Medal | 20 Years Service Medal | 30 Years Service Medal | Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-
(100th Birth Anniversary of 1976 |
| Hijri Tamgha
(Hijri Medal) 1979 |
Jamhuriat Tamgha
(Democracy Medal) 1988 |
Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha
(Resolution Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1990 |
Tamgha-e-Salgirah Pakistan
(Independence Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1997 |
| Order of King Abdul Aziz | The Order of Military Merit
(Jordan) |
Turkish Legion of Merit
(Turkey) |
The Legion of Merit
(USA) |
Foreign decorations
See also
References
External links
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- Pages with broken file links
- 1941 births
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