Lt General YK Joshi appointed Northern Army Commander, Lt General C P Mohanty as Southern Army Commander

New Delhi: Kargil war hero Lieutenant General YK Joshi on Thursday was appointed as the Northern Army Commander, where he would be looking after borders with China and Pakistan and would be in charge of the counter-terrorism operations in the Kashmir valley.

Joshi is the first gallantry award winner of the Kargil war to have been appointed as Army Commander-rank in the Force. Joshi is considered to be a China expert as he has served extensively on the China border as Defence Attache in Beijing and later on commanded his brigade, division and corps in the Ladakh sector adjoining China.

Joshi is succeeding Lt General Ranbir Singh who is superannuating on January 31. After his 14 Corps stint, Joshi had been given the posting in Northern Command itself as Chief of Staff to gain experience.

Lieutenant General C P Mohanty has been appointed as the commander of the Southern Command. He succeeds Lt Gen SK Saini who will take charge as new Vice Chief of the Army on Saturday.