General Jehangir Karamat ( ; born 20 February 1941) is a retired military officer, diplomat, public intellectual, and a former professor of political science at the National Defense University.

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. family who initially hailed from Sahiwal, Punjab.

His father, Ahmad Karamat, was an officer in the British Indian Civil Service who would later embarked his career as a bureaucrat in the Government of Pakistan in 1947.

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.

In 1961, Karamat was commissioned as a 2nd-Lt in the 13th Lancers of the Corps of Armoured.

In 1969, Capt. Karamat attended the Command and Staff College in Quetta where he was noted for his intellect and competence at any level of courses he took as required in the curriculum.

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.

Upon his graduation from the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College, Major Karamat was then attended the National Defence University where he graduated and gained the MSc in the International Relations in 1976–77. 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. 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.

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. In 1965, Lt. Karamat commanded an infantry platoon during the second war with India in the Akhnur Sector in the Indian-administered Kashmir. Lt. Karamat's platoon was the first unit that had penetrated into the enemy territory, which encouraged backup military companies to move forward into the enemy territory. Although the 1965 war ended in a defeat for Pakistan, the regiment's performance was excellent.

He progressed well in the army, eventually promoted to captain in 1966; and elevated as major in 1971.

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. The regiment was awarded battle honour of Bara Pind 1971.

Staff and war appointments

250px|right|thumb|[[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brig. Karamat served as an OC of the Pakistan Armed Forces–Middle East Command in the 1980s near the Saudi–Jordanian border.]]

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.

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. 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. In 1988, Brig. Karamat returned from his combat duty, promoting to the two-star rank assignment at the Army GHQ. 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.

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.

In 1992, Lieutenant-General Karamat was appointed as field command of the II Strike Corps, stationed in Multan, which he commanded until 1994. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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: