Imran Khan was ousted in April by a coalition of several parties, which among other reasons, alleged the former premier was planning to elevate his trusted ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as the new army chief of the country.
The government has issued separate notifications on Monday as part of the Air Force Act, the Army Act and the Navy Act to make the provisions to make any serving or retired Lt General, Air Marshal or Vice Admiral eligible to be appointed as the CDS.
Gen Pande took charge of the Army at a time when India is facing myriad security challenges, including along the borders with China and Pakistan.
Pande, the current vice-chief of the Army, will take over as the army chief at the end of April after the present COAS M M Naravane retires.
Without directly naming China and Pakistan, Army Chief Gen Naravane said that the disputed borders with nuclear-capable neighbors coupled with state-sponsored proxy war were stretching the security apparatus and the resources.
The armies of India and China are locked in a military standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 5, 2020, after a violent clash erupted in the Pangong lake area.
As many as 13 civilians died on December 4 after they were killed by the 21 Para Special Forces (SF) of the Army in a botched-up counter-insurgency operation in the district.
The visit by the Army chief comes weeks after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar travelled to Israel to explore ways to boost strategic ties.
During his visit to New Delhi on the invitation of his Indian counterpart Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane, Gen. Sharma will be conferred with the title of honorary 'General of Indian Army', the Nepal Army said in a press release.
Army Chief General MM Naravane was briefed by the commanders on ground on the prevailing security situation along the Line of Control (LoC).
In his speech, the army chief also appealed the cadets to keep abreast with new technology to counter the contemporary challenges.
General Sharma will be conferred upon the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army.
Army Chief General MM Naravane's visit to Jammu and Kashmir comes at a time when there has been a slew of selective killing of minorities in the Valley.
"'China here to stay.' Where? On our land," Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter, tagging a report on General Naravane's statement on the PLA build-up.
Indian and Chinese militaries have been on a standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh for nearly 17 months.
"We're hopeful of having the 13th round of talks in the second week of October," Army chief Naravane said on Ladakh standoff.
The meeting was held after the Taliban on Tuesday unveiled a hardline interim government with at least 14 members of the Cabinet, including acting Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, being listed on the UN Security Council's terrorism blacklist.
Earlier, Gen Naravane inspected the Guard of Honour provided by the Grenadier Guards on Horse Guards’ Parade Square as part of his welcome by the British Army.
Tensions escalated between armed forces over the creation of four new integrated theatre commands on Friday, with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat saying that the Indian Air Force is like "a supporting arm" akin to artillery or engineers in the Army.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accompanied by the Army chief, will begin a two-day visit to Ladakh from Sunday to carry out a comprehensive review of India's operational readiness amid a stalemate with China on the next stage of disengagement at several friction points in eastern Ladakh
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