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Two senior-most officers superseded in surprise decision In a surprise move, the government on Saturday announced that Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat will be the next Chief of Army Staff. Against tradition The appointment goes against the long-held tradition of appointing the senior-most eligible officer to the post. By this criterion, Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command, should have been appointed. Air Chief Air Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, presently the Vice-Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), has been appointed the next Air Chief. “The next Army Chief will be Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat with effect from the afternoon of December 31,” a Defence Ministry spokesperson said. Army Chief General Dalbir Singh and Air Force head Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha will both retire on December 31. 1983 precedent Lt. Gen. Bakshi is widely respected as a highly competent and professional officer. The last time the senior-most eligible officer was not appointed was in 1983 when Prime ...

‘We are working with India to create a formal economy in Afghanistan’ Iran is willing to mediate between India and Pakistan if asked to play a role, said Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Saturday. Pitching for regional connectivity and shared prosperity in South Asia, Mr. Zarif strongly argued against terrorism and said that Iran was partnering with India to stabilise Afghanistan. “Iran is a close friend of India as well as Pakistan. We would like the relations between our friends to improve. We are ready to do whatever we can, if both our friends so desire,” said Mr. Zarif at a think tank event. Mr. Zarif was in Delhi before proceeding to Amritsar, where he will participate in the Heart of Asia conference on Afghanistan. He said that India and Iran were working to provide Afghanistan with access to the port of Chahbahar which will help address “root causes” of Afghan crisis. “Afghan economy is an informal war economy based on war-lordism and drug trade,” said Mr. Zarif and add...