Expresses Hope Over Improvement in Security Situation Amid Ceasefire on LoC
Srinagar, Mar 17: (GNS) Lieutenant General Devendra Pratap Pandey has on Wednesday assumed command of the strategic Kashmir-based Chinar Corps taking over the charge from Lt General BS Raju.
An official defence statement received here reads that, “On taking over command, he paid homage at the Chinar Corps Memorial at Badami Bagh in Srinagar. The General addressed and interacted with troops of Chinar Corps and exhorted them to continue to work with unflinching dedication and perseverance ‘in pursuit of Peace and Stability in Kashmir’. He asked for all combatants to take extra steps required to connect with citizens in order to jointly work towards the common cause.”
Lieutenant General DP Pandey, alumni of the National Defence Academy, Pune, was commissioned in December 1985 and has had an illustrious military career spanning 35 years during which he has held varied prestigious command, staff and instructional appointments. The General Officer has an incisive understanding of Jammu & Kashmir, having served here for multiple tenures since 1985, notably as General Officer Commanding, Counter Insurgency Force (Kilo) and as Commander 8 Sector Rashtriya Rifles. A postgraduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Tamil Nadu) & National War College, Washington DC (USA), the General was also posted as Military Observer in United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia. Prior to this appointment, Lieutenant General DP Pandey held two important appointments at Army Headquarters as Additional Director General of Public Information and the Director General Territorial Army.
On assuming charge, Lieutenant General DP Pandey, as per the statement, conveyed his best wishes to the people of Kashmir. “He reiterated his commitment to closely work with various instruments of State and civil society to further the cause of peace and prosperity in Kashmir. He expressed satisfaction at the improved security parameters in the Valley and hoped that ceasefire on Line of Control will enable an improvement in the security situation.”
He called for civil society to come forward and jointly work with security forces to address the scourge of militancy. General Pandey stated that 2021-22 is a momentous epoch in the history of Kashmir, and an era of peace and stability can be ushered in with the willing support of all sections of the society, the statement further read. (GNS)
