Defence, Home should interact more: Army commander

Lt Gen R. Nanavaty, GOC-in-C Northern Command, has drawn the attention of Deputy PM L K Advani to the need for greater interaction between the ministries of Defence and Home Affairs, saying this was critical to the Army’s efforts to combat terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dressed in Army fatigues and carrying a small black haversack, Lt Gen Nanavaty today flew into Srinagar from Udhampur to make a quite plea to Advani. As GOC-in-C, he is at the centre of the Army’s operations, both on the LoC as well as firming up the counter-insurgency grid in the state. Nanavaty is due to retire on March 31.

Sources in Army Headquarters said lack of interaction between the Defence and Home ministries tend to hamper joint operations with paramilitary units which report to the Home Ministry. Despite a unified command in Srinagar, the Army has felt a need for better coordination with their paramilitary counterparts due to lack of ‘‘synergy at the top.’’