New Delhi, June 17: Indian Army's Northern Command - the most active formation engaged in dealing with counter-terrorism operations against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir - celebrated its 48th Raising Day in Udhampur on Monday."On the 48th Raising Day, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh extends warm greetings to all ranks, their families and civilian staff. He paid homage to the martyrs and exhorted all ranks to rededicate themselves to the service of the Nation," the Northern Command said in a tweet.

On this occasion, the chief of the command Lt Gen Ranbir Singh paid homage to the martyrs & exhorted all ranks to rededicate themselves to the service of the Nation. Northern Command was raised on June 17, 1972. It has been at the forefront of the nation's effort to counter security challenges posed by terrorism and externally sponsored proxy war in J&K.

The Command with the motto of being 'forever in operations' has the unique distinction of having been "in war" in every major conflict of Post-Independence. The command with its headquarters in Udhampur looks after almost entire Jammu and Kashmir including borders with both Pakistan and China.

The formation has three Corps under it including the 14 Corps in Leh, 15 Corps in Srinagar and 16 Corps in Nagrota near Jammu. The Northern Command was also responsible for conducting the 2016 surgical strikes. The present chief of the command Lt Gen Ranbir Singh was the Director General of Military Operations at that time and is credited for the successful conduct of the raids inside Pakistan-held territory.