Australian Army chief visits Kashmir

Jammu, Oct 6 : The Australian Army chief, Lt. Gen. Ken J. Gillespie, was briefed on the Indian Army's strategies to tackle militancy in Jammu and Kashmir during his visit to the Udhampur-based Northern Command Tuesday.

"During this brief visit, he held a cordial discussion with (Northern Command chief) Lt. Gen. B.S. Jaswal. He also interacted with other senior officers of the Northern Command headquarters and was briefed about the operational and functional aspects of this sensitive formation," Command spokesperson Lt. Col. D.K. Kachari said in a release.

Udhampur is 66 km north of Jammu. It is from where all the counter-insurgency operations are directed in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been battling militancy for the past 20 years. The Northern Command also oversees deployment and operations along the borders with China, Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir has been in the news because of tensions along the 646 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in the Ladakh sector and infiltration from across the 744 km-long Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.