New Delhi: Defence Minister A K Antony will undertake a two day-long tour of some of the forward areas and key military formations in Jammu and Kashmir from July 28, his first visit to the state in the last 18 months.
Accompanied by Army Chief General Bikram Singh, Antony will also interact with the State Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and head the meeting of Unified Headquarter (UHQ) in Srinagar, Army officials said here Wednesday.
"Defence Minister will visit several forward areas in the state and will interact with troops and senior defence as well as state government officials. He will also head the meeting of UHQ during which he will be briefed on present security situation in state and along the Indo-Pakistan border," Defence Ministry officials said here today.
He will also visit the Headquarters of some of the key military formations in the state to take stock of their preparedness and will interact with the troops there.
He will return to the Capital after spending the night of July 28 in Srinagar.
The Defence Minister is also expected to discuss the issue of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the state with top commanders.
While Army has been insisting on maintaining a status quo regarding the law, state government and several other political parties have demanded its revocation.
Yesterday the Defence Minister had reviewed the overall security situation in the country in a 45-minute long meeting with the top security brass.
The meeting was attended by National Security Advisor (NSA) Shivshankar Menon, Gen Bikram Singh, Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Brown and Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma.
PTI
