The appointment of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag as the next army chief will not be affected by the change of government, said new Defence Minister Arun Jaitley whose party BJP had strongly opposed the United Progressive Alliance government for elevating him to the top post.
Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh, who has spent a major part of his 40 years of service in Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday recalled his days in the Valley saying that he has "shed his blood" there as he was wounded in a terrorist incident there.
Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh was on Monday suddenly called in by Defence Minister A K Antony to brief him about the ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the Line of Control, days after the prime minister voiced concern over the handling of Keran operations.
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Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag will be the next Army Chief succeeding Gen Bikram Singh as the government on Tuesday appointed him to the top post, ignoring protests from Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Election Commission on Monday gave a go-ahead to the Defence Ministry to initiate the process of appointing the next Army chief, an issue that has got caught in a controversy because of stiff opposition in the matter by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Election Commission on Monday gave a go-ahead to the Defence Ministry to initiate the process of appointing the next Army chief, an issue that has got caught in a controversy because of stiff opposition in the matter by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, whose appointment as Army chief had kicked up a row, on Thursday took over as the next head of the 1.3 million strong force succeeding Gen Bikram Singh who is retiring.
Indian Air Force chief Arup Raha on Wednesday took over as the chairman, Chiefs of Staffs Committee from incumbent Gen Bikram Singh who is retiring on Thursday.
During the visit to the LoC to review the security situation after the killing of five Indian soldiers in Poonch on Tuesday, the Army Chief pulled up the formation commanders there, sources said in New Delhi.
Senior military officials of India and Pakistan will meet on Friday in Pooch sector in Jammu and Kashmir to discuss ways to strengthen the ceasefire along the Line of Control against the backdrop of violations in the recent past.
Against the backdrop of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh on Monday briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the situation there and the retaliatory operations being carried out by the Indian troops.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday took stock of the preparedness of the country's nuclear arsenal with the top security brass, including chiefs of the three services.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may soon visit Indian army's forward posts in the Siachen glacier, the highest battlefield in the world, during his tour of Ladakh.
With no let up in ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC and the International Border, the Indian Director General of Military Operation on Tuesday spoke to his Pakistani counterpart and is understood to have conveyed India's strong concerns over it.
Celebrations broke out at Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag's native village Bishan in Haryana after he took over as the new Army chief on Thursday.
No attack on the Indian Army is possible without the help of the Pakistani Army, said Antony, adding that the ties with Islamabad will also be reviewed.
The Army has rubbished Pakistan's demand for withdrawal of troops from the Siachen Glacier saying it would not move out from the strategically important icy heights.
The Union defence ministry has rejected former Army Chief Gen VK Singh's plea to get a copy of an army report on the activities of the controversial Technical Support Division, set up during his tenure.
The Narendra Modi government is understood to have ruled out changes in the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir and favoured its continuation in the present form in the state.
The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to give an early hearing on a plea challenging the appointment of Army vice chief Dalbir Singh Suhag as the next Army chief and directed listing of the case in the second week of July.
A fresh probe into the Pathribal encounter case is not ruled out in view of the major controversy that has erupted after the Army gave a clean chit to its personnel in the infamous incident which took place in Kashmir in 2000.
Pakistan on Thursday described Indian Army chief Gen Bikram Singh's remarks about retaliating against any possible ceasefire violations on the LoC as "provocative and unfortunate".
The terror infrastructure across the Line of Control has the potential to vitiate the security environment in Jammu and Kashmir and Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act should not be withdrawn as it is a "strategic imperative" until the US' pullout from Afghanistan in 2014, Army Chief, Gen Bikram Singh, has said.
In their first meeting after the Kargil war, the Indian Director Generals of Military Operations will on Tuesday cross over to the Pakistani side of the Wagah border to meet his counterpart to discuss ways of ensuring ceasefire on the LoC and is expected to register his protest over the cross-border raids.
However, flow of funds, would naturally rest on economic growth, reports Ajai Shukla.
The incident took place in the 10 Sikh Light Infantry regiment during an inter-company boxing match there, sources said in New Delhi.
Three months after the 21-day stand-off in Depsang valley in Ladakh, Chinese troops again came deep inside the Indian territory in that area last week to reach upto 2 kms close to Indian posts, in one of five such incursions in the recent past.
Indian Army chief General Bikram Singh on Tuesday assured Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that incidents of June 24 and June 30 would not happen in future.
On his first day in office, Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag on Friday warned Pakistan that India's response to any beheading-like incident in future would be "more than adequate, intense and immediate".
United States Secretary of State John Kerry has held wide-ranging talks with visiting Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh on key issues, including the regional situation with respect to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Officers at Army headquarters say the chief has personally initiated this reshuffle, reports Ajai Shukla
The Election Commission on Saturday said it will consider the issue of the appointment of the next army chief at a meeting of its top brass next week.
With no let up in ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that India should "respond in kind" if these persist and BSF asked its men to retaliate strongly while Army said it is prepared to deal with any situation.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa, an expert in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir affairs, on Tuesday took over as Pakistan's new army chief succeeding General Raheel Sharif and promised to improve the tense situation at the Line of Control soon.
Amid the raging controversy over his statement on the Poonch killings, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the situation on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, where five troops were recently killed in an ambush.
Boosting the army's war fighting capabilities along the Line of Actual Control, the government on Wednesday given a go ahead to the creation of a corps including deployment of 50,000 additional troops along the China border at a cost of around Rs 65,000 crore.
The defence ministry on Monday decided to go ahead with the process of appointing the next army chief as it recommended the name of Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag for the top post.
Lt Gen Zubair Hayat appointed as Chairman of Joint Chief of Staff Committee.
Outgoing Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh on Thursday said that India had given a befitting reply to Pakistan after the beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistani troops in 2013 along the Line of Control even as he did not rule out the possibility of skirmishes on the western front in future.
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