Nigar Johar

Nigar Johar Khan is a retired three-star general who served in the Pakistan Army. She holds the distinction of being the first and only woman in the history of the Pakistan Army to reach the rank of lieutenant-general. As a member of the Pakistan Army Medical Corps, she also functioned as the surgeon general of the Pakistan Army.

Early life and education

Nigar Johar was born in 1965 in Panjpir village, which is located in the Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She was raised in a Pashtun family where her father, Abdul Qadir, served as an army colonel in the ISI. After completing her schooling at the Presentation Convent Girls High School in Rawalpindi in 1978, she pursued a medical career. She joined the Army Medical College in 1981 and graduated in 1985 as part of the 5th MBBS course.

During her time at the college, she served as the female company commander of Ayesha Company. Her academic journey continued through several specialized certifications and degrees. In 2010, she completed her membership examination for the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan. She later earned a diploma in Advance Medical Administration from the Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute in 2012. Finally, she received a Master of Public Health degree from the same institute in 2015.

Career

Johar's military progression included several high-level leadership roles within the medical corps. In 2015, she held the position of deputy commandant at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi. She was also featured in an Inter-Services Public Relations video that year to honor women in the Pakistan Armed Forces. On 9 February 2017, she became one of 37 brigadiers promoted to the rank of major-general. This promotion followed an Army Selection Board meeting presided over by General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

She reached the highest tier of her career on 30 June 2020 when she was promoted to lieutenant-general. Upon this promotion, she was appointed as the Surgeon General of the Pakistan Army. Her previous leadership roles included serving as the vice principal of the Army Medical College and the commandant of Pak-Emirates Military Hospital in Rawalpindi. She also served as the Colonel commandant of the Army Medical Corps.

Personal life

The family history of Nigar Johar involves significant tragedy. While her father was a colonel, both her parents and her two younger sisters died in a car accident in 1989. Only her brother survived that event. She took the name Johar following her marriage to an engineer in the military named Johar. He passed away from cancer in 2019.

Her life was depicted in popular culture through a biographical telefilm. The production, titled Aik Hai Nigaar, premiered on 23 October 2021 on ARY Digital. Mahira Khan portrayed the general in this Urdu language film directed by Adnan Sarwar.