Lieutenant General Prashant Srivastava Saturday assumed command of the strategic Srinagar-based Chinar Corps. 

Lt Gen Srivastava took charge from Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, who assumed command as the director general of military operations at the Army headquarters, a defence spokesperson said.

On assumption of command, Lt-Gen Srivastava paid obeisance at the Chinar War Memorial at Badami Bagh Cantonment, Srinagar, honoring the sacrifices of the Bravehearts for the Nation.

A battle-hardened soldier, Lieutenant General Prashant Srivastava possesses extensive operational experience in Counter Insurgency and Counter terrorist Operations having served in both Jammu and Kashmir as well as the North East.  He has commanded the Counter Insurgency Force (Victor) in South Kashmir. 

Meanwhile, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai remained at the helm for the last 16 months. The period witnessed a strong security architecture facilitating peace and stability in the region.  It saw the conduct of two incident-free Amarnath Yatras, the Parliamentary Elections in May 2024 and the Assembly Elections after a period of 10 years, in September to October 2024. The Corps achieved numerous successes in Counter Infiltration Operations on the Line of Control and in Counter Terrorists Operations in the valley, thereby dealing a significant and crippling blow to the terror network. 

The new Chinar Corps commander said that integrated efforts of the civil society and the security forces are the way forward to dismantle the terror infrastructure and nefarious designs of the adversary.