Lt. Gen. Cheema to be acting head of Western Command

Chandimandir, July 28 (IANS) Lt. Gen. Jagbir Singh Cheema, GOC Vajra Corps, has been appointed the officiating General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Command, a defence spokesman said here on Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Cheema will assume charge on August 1.

The move comes as the Defence Ministry has not made a regular appointment to the post in place of outgoing army commander Lt. Gen. K.J. Singh, who will retire on July 31 after a distinguished military career spanning almost four decades.

The frontier Western Command looks after the country's borders on the western frontier with Pakistan and some parts of the India-China border.

"This is an interim arrangement till a permanent incumbent is posted. With this arrangement, there will be no vacuum in the functioning of the Western Command Headquarters and the chain of command will be intact," the spokesman said.

Lt. Gen. Cheema has been commanding the frontline Vajra Corps since August 2015.

Lt. Gen. K.J. Singh on Thursday presided over a high-level video conference with the Corps Commanders and principal staff officers wherein the working modalities and response strategy were deliberated and finalised.

"He emphasised on maintaining high operational preparedness and swift response system to meet any contingency in the Western Theatre. He appreciated the high morale of the troops in the service of the nation," the spokesman said.