Jamil Jalibi was born on 30 July 1929 in a Yusufzai family of Aligarh, British India. His early schooling was in Aligarh. He matriculated in Saharanpur and did his Bachelor of Arts from Meerut College. One day before the partition of India, on 13 August 1947, Jalibi migrated to Karachi, Pakistan, where he continued his education and literary activities. He received a Master of Arts degree, Bachelor of Laws degree and a Ph.D from Sindh University. He then worked for the Income Tax Department of Pakistan until his retirement.