Top military leadership condoles death of Indian CDS Bipin Rawat, his wife and others
COAS, CJCSC condoles death of Indian CDS Bipin Rawat, his wife and others
RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza express condolences on tragic death of India’s defence chief General Bipin Rawat, his wife and loss of precious lives in a helicopter crash in India.
“General Nadeem Raza, CJCSC & General Qamar Javed Bajwa, COAS express condolences on tragic death of CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife and loss of precious lives in a helicopter crash in India,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar wrote on Twitter.
General Nadeem Raza, CJCSC & General Qamar Javed Bajwa, COAS express condolences on tragic death of #CDS General #BipinRawat, his wife and loss of precious lives in a helicopter crash in India
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) December 8, 2021
On the other han, Chief of the Air Staff Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu expressed his condolences on the tragic death of Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat along with his spouse and other passengers during the helicopter crash.
The Air Chief condoled General Bipin Rawat, his spouse, and 11 other passengers or crew members’ demise in the helicopter crash, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Chief of the Naval Staff Pakistan Navy Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi also expressed condolences on the death of Indian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife and loss of precious lives in a helicopter crash in India.
The condolence message was shared at the official Twitter handle of the Directorate General of Public Relations of Pakistan Navy.
— DGPR (Navy) (@dgprPaknavy) December 8, 2021
Earlier today, Indian defence chief General Bipin Rawat and 12 other people were killed in a helicopter crash, with one survivor being treated for his injuries.
Rawat was India’s first chief of defence staff, a position that the government established in 2019, and was seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 63-year-old was travelling with his wife and other senior officers in the Russian-made Mi-17 chopper, which crashed near its destination in southern Tamil Nadu state.
Bipin Rawat
Rawat came from a military family with several generations having served in the Indian armed forces.
The general joined the army as a second lieutenant in 1978 and had four decades of service behind him, having commanded forces in Indian-administered Kashmir and along the Line of Actual Control bordering China.
He was credited with reducing insurgency on India s northeastern frontier and supervised a cross-border counter-insurgency operation into neighbouring Myanmar.
Rawat was chief of the 1.3 million-strong army from 2017 to 2019 before his elevation to defence services chief, which analysts said was to improve integration between the army, navy and air force.
He was considered close to the Modi government and turned heads last month when he reportedly made an approving reference to "lynching terrorists" in the contested territory of Kashmir.
