Lt Gen BS Jaswal had visited China in 2008

Beijing’s visa denial to Lt Gen BS Jaswal, general officer commanding-in-chief of the army’s Udhampur-based Northern Command, is baffling, particularly since he had visited China in 2008 as an observer of a military exercise after serving at least three tenures in Jammu and Kashmir.

The three-star officer commanded the 3rd battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles in Gulmarg, served as a young major in the Valley and commanded the Akhnoor division as a major general.

A source close to Jaswal told DNA, “Jaswal was given a proper visa in 2008, not a stapled one.”

The defence ministry is upset since Jaswal was to lead a delegation for an annual defence dialogue with his Chinese counterpart in July. The visa denial has temporarily halted the dialogue and also put on hold a joint army exercise scheduled to be held later this year.