Army chief makes maiden visit to J&K, to visit Siachen

Indian army chief, Gen. Bipin Rawat who arrived here on Thursday on his maiden visit after taking over the post, will also visit the Siachen Glacier and other forward areas, a defence statement said.

"Army chief, Gen Bipin Rawat is visiting Jammu and Kashmir on a three day tour from January 5 to 7. He will be visiting Udhampur, Srinagar, Nagrota and Siachen during his tour.

"He will also be visiting formations at Kupwara, Anantnag, Akhnoor and Rajouri where he will be briefed upon the prevailing security situation and will interact with officers and men," the statement said.

It said that the army chief lauded the role of Northern Command in restoring peace and normalcy during the recent unrest, and also commended the soldiers for strongly reciprocating to the unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

"Every soldier of our Army plays an important role towards security of the nation because it is the contribution of every soldier that makes the Army efficient and strong," the statement quoted Rawat as saying.

The army chief also emphasised that they need to evolve "a dynamic strategy to handle the proxy war and defeat enemy's nefarious designs", it added.

--IANS

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