Operation Sindoor: The Indian Armed Forces held a press conference, jointly addressed by senior female officers Colonel Sophia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, after ‘Operation Sindoor’ was carried out during the early hours of Wednesday.
In the press conference, Colonel Qureshi informed that the terror site Markaz Subhan Allah, Bahawalpur, Pakistan, the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed, was targeted by the Indian Armed Forces and presented videos showing destroyed terror camps, including those from Muridke, where those involved in the 2008 Mumbai Terror attacks.
#WATCH | #OperationSindoor | Terror site Markaz Subhan Allah, Bahawalpur, Pakistan, the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed, targeted by Indian Armed Forces.” pic.twitter.com/iM4s91ktb8
— ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2025
Colonel Sophia Qureshi’s Background
Colonel Qureshi is a decorated Indian Army officer and comes from the Indian state of Gujarat, and was a student of biochemistry in college.
As per the Economic Times, she comes from a military family, as her grandfather also served in the Indian Army and is married to a Mechanised Infantry officer.
Colonel Sophia Qureshi commissioned into the Indian Army through the Officers Training Academy in 1999 and has served in various posts across the country.
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Colonel Sophia Qureshi’s Important Services In Army
Colonel Sophia Qureshi was the first woman officer to lead an Army training contingent in a multinational military exercise. She commanded a 40-member Indian Army contingent at ‘Exercise Force 18’. She was the only Woman officer contingent Commander among all the ASEAN Plus contingents. The exercise held was in Pune, and 18 ASEAN Plus countries, including China, the USA, Russia, Japan, and South Korea, had participated in it.
Leading lady
Lt Col Sophia Qureshi, 1st woman officer to lead an Army training contingent at Force18 – #ASEAN Plus multin’l field trg ex in 2016. She was only Woman Officers Contingent Commander among all #ASEAN Plus contingents. #WomensDay #IWD2020 #EachforEqual #SheInspiresUs pic.twitter.com/CkNipN02mp
— Ministry of Defence, Government of India (@SpokespersonMoD) March 8, 2020
Furthermore, as per the ET report, she had served with the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) for six years and was a part of the UN Mission in Congo in 2006.
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India’s Operation Sindoor
India woke up to the Indian Army’s Operation Sindoor hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) early morning on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Defence, in a statement, informed that nine sites were targeted, and the Indian Armed Forces’ actions were “focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature.” It also clarified that no Pakistani military facilities were targeted.
This came after the deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed.
(with ANI inputs)