Daily Times

Lt Gen Dr Nigar, despite many inherent odds, has set a very glaring and befitting example which must be copied and followed by each and every one be male or female, white or black, resident of a village or a cosmopolitan city if they also aspire and wish to progress alike in their lives not just within Pakistan alone but the world at large.

She belongs to a village called Punjpai in district Swabi of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa which itself proves how much disadvantageous she had been from day one for many cogent reasons and not otherwise. Village is a village meaning by that due to lack of facilities and the surroundings mostly villagers, of course not all, are less far sighted and they lack in imaging in a broad prospective. Then the village itself falls in district Swabi proves that had it been a big city like Peshawar instead of Swabia she had more advantages instead. Lastly the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa itself is not that developed like Punjab so it was yet another drawback area for her.

Her father was an army officer which for her is both advantageous and disadvantageous to tell you the truth. Daughter of an army officer is advantageous in an sense that right from her birth she saw her father in official uniform and therefore being a witnesses to the respect and pomp and show coupled with the grandiose she enjoys, she quite but naturally and automatically drew inspiration to excel so that eventually she herself also became an officer in Pakistan army.

Monetary affluence witnessed by an infant sometimes goes against the child in a sense that the child starts thinking that when their father earns quite handsome money, why the daughter or the son should toil too hard to study and earn when his and her father is so well off. There are far too may examples where the child did not study to the extent, he or she had studied otherwise, simply because of richness of the father slacked his son or daughter who avoided to toil hard and instead preferred to enjoy their life at the expense of the father.

The year of 2017 was the very historic year in history of Pakistan Army in general and Army Medical Corp in particular

She belongs to Pashtun where generally speaking women folk are not that educated in any case and in most cases, they study up to matriculation or less and few go to colleges and of course university education. I am quite sure that most of the girls of the village Punjpai which is the village of Gen Nigar, very few must had been educated and I very much doubtful if any girl could be as highly academically qualified as Gen Nigar but yet she not only studied but studied to the highest level.

Her parents could very well read her mind and truly realized that Nigar is not an ordinary village girl of Panjpai like many other girls of the village of her age and surroundings who mostly are not that much interested to study. On the contrary, she showed great enthusiasm to not only study but also go much higher in studies so that she also entered her practical life but as an honorable officer like her father and not that as a subordinate come what may.

She got education at Presentation Convent High School, Rawalpindi, and passed out from there in the year 1978 with matriculation certificate. She studied for another two years to pass higher secondary school examination in 1980 to be eligible to be admitted in any medical college because she had decided to be a medical doctor to serve the humanity and in pursuance to her such inner wish she got admission to MBBS class at Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, in 1981 and after studying for five years continuously she graduated from the AMC in 1985.

After graduation she joined as an officer with Medical Corp of Pakistan Army and being possessed with the inner inborn qualities of serving the humanity, she took great interest in treating the patients and in very short period of time she became very popular with the patients who very much admired her for taking extra pains to treat them with utmost professional attention coupled with due care. Her senior colleagues were too proud of her since her all patients told her bosses that she is an excellent doctor truly embedded with the qualities of an angle like doctor. What a sheer bad luck that in 1990 her parents, both mother and father died in a terrible and horrible accident which was much shocking and heart breaking and she was shattered to maximum limits but what she could do except to condole and pray that they live in peace in their permanent abode. Had there been someone else then he or she may have subdued by such tragedy but she instead picked up the courage to face such blow and advance ahead.

Her inner ego to be a specialist doctor pushed her to study further and be higher qualified than just a simple MBBS and therefore she embarked upon specialization and eventually it was 2010 when she succeeded and qualified as FCPS which is as higher qualification as that of MRCP of the UK but it very well proves that she is always on the run to go higher and higher to enlighten and brighten her academically. She studied further and two years later in 2012 she obtained Diploma in Advanced Medical Administration from Armed Forces Medical Institute but still she was not satisfied whatever she had qualified till then and therefore at the same institute she enrolled herself now as a student for studying Master in Public Health and it was 2015 when she qualified this as well.

She during her army career held many positions from the start and at each and every step she did excel over her male and female colleagues and in recognition to her meritorious services in the Medical Corp she was appointed as Deputy Commandment of Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi which itself is a very prestigious position for anyone be male or female to be posted as such because Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and therefore quite naturally all elite id army comes to CMH, Rawalpindi.

The year of 2017 was the very historic year in history of Pakistan Army in general and Army Medical Corp in particular simply because then just in one go three female Brigadiers namely Nigar Johar, Shahid Badshah and Shahida Malik were promoted to the rank of 2 star general i.e. Major General

June 2020 is still the more important year from Major Genreal Nigar Johar that now she has been elevated as higher as Lieutenant General which is unprecedented in long history of Pakistan Army because no female could go that higher till today. In appreciation and recognition of her outstanding devotion duly punctuated with professional dedication she had been decorated with HI (M) Hilal e Imtiaz Military as well.

Lt Gen Nigar Johar has now been appointed as Surgeon General of Pakistan Army the position which has always been manned by none but a male doctor so here again, she breaks another record to be given such a coveted posting of Surgeon General.

She through her zeal and zest has proved in quite crystal clear terms that Pakistani woman is as good as her male counterpart and inwardly there a strong message also from her to all her Pakistani womenfolk that they must always think high, study with full concentration and be fully committed to the profession to touch zenith.

The writer can be reached at zaidi.formerdilomat@hotmail.com