Tuesday, February 1 2005 14:33 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Army has been directed to carry out anti-militancy operations with a more "humane" touch; new Chief of Army Staff General J J Singh today (Feb 01, 2005) said emphasising that there was a need to "reach out to the people in Jammu and Kashmir and North East to spur the movement towards normalcy."

"Counter-terrorism operations can be optimally effective while being polite," was the message of new Army Chief to his troops after taking over as the 22nd Chief of the Army Staff after a ceremonial Guard of Honour.

"Army units have been directed to use minimum force while carrying out anti-militancy operations to avoid innocents being hit and to avert collateral damage," he said.

Asserting that ceasefire along the volatile Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan was holding and the two Armies observing restraint, J J Singh said that any fresh withdrawal of troops in Jammu and Kashmir would be carried out after a review of the situation once the snow starts melting on the high Himalayan ranges and ascertaining the "intentions across".

Singh, the first Sikh officer to don the mantle of Army Chief, said that his task would be to reach out to the people in Jammu and Kashmir by winning their hearts and minds.

In his first wide-ranging interaction with the media, Singh outlined his priorities saying that operational readiness of the Army would be made more reactive and his efforts would be to speed up the transformation of the Army into a hi-tech force, which used satellites and Information Technology to be in command of battlefields.