Former Chairman of the Pakistani Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Jehangir Karamat, arrives at Brookings

Pakistani General Jehangir Karamat (ret.) will join The Brookings Institution in May 2000 as a Visiting Fellow for four months. General Karamat rose to the position of Chairman of the Pakistani Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee before retiring from the armed forces.

At Brookings, General Karamat will be affiliated with the Brookings South Asia Project, established in 1998. This project, directed by Dr. Stephen P. Cohen, organizes public discussions and meetings focusing on contemporary issues in South Asia and on American relations with the states of the region. The project helped to coordinate a recent public letter to President Clinton, signed by over a dozen leading American experts on South Asia, that offered guidance concerning the recent Presidential visit to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. One of the areas of inquiry of the South Asia Project is India’s emergence as a major power. Another issue on the Project’s agenda is an assessment of American efforts to resolve or ameliorate the major conflicts of South Asia, particularly those involving India and Pakistan. It has also conducted a series of seminars and workshops on the issue of regional nuclear proliferation.

General Karamat graduated from the Pakistan Military Academy and joined the Armored Corps of the Pakistan Army. He was in combat in the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan Wars. He later commanded an Armored Brigade and served in Saudi Arabia from 1985 to 1988 as the Commander of the Independent Armored Brigade Group. Promoted to Major General, he was Director of General Military Operations at Army Headquarters. On promotion to Lieutenant General in 1992, he commanded a corps and became Chief of General Staff. He was promoted to General in 1995 and appointed Chief of Army Staff. In 1997, he was appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. In October 1998, he retired from the service.

During his military career, General Karamat led official delegations to China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Ukraine, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. He was a member of the Pakistani team during the India-Pakistan talks in 1990-91 at New Delhi and Islamabad. Karamat’s international awards include the U.S. Legion of Merit and the Abdul Aziz Medal from Saudi Arabia. He has written on defense management, leadership, and the 1971 India-Pakistan War. Karamat is a graduate of Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. He is also a graduate of the Pakistan Army Command and Staff College, the National Defense College, and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

Further information about the South Asia program, including publications and links to other relevant sites can be found on the program’s home page.