Women officers Sofiya and Vyomika take centrestage at Operation Sindoor media briefing

As India gave the details of the Operation Sindoor to the world on Wednesday, two women defence officers took centre stage as they addressed the media.

India's briefing on the operation was done by Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, thereby giving a strong and significant message.

As the women led the charge after the Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s opening brief, the two officers shed light on the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people died, and then, India's action, 'Operation Sindoor', against the perpetrators.

The choice of women officers giving the details of the operation is meant to serve as a powerful message reflecting strength and sacrifice. 

This is also symbolic of the anti-terror Operation Sindoor - a way of honouring those women whose husbands were brutally killed by terrorists in the Pahalgam attack on April 22.

Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said, "Terror targets were chosen based on credible intelligence and their involvement in cross-border terrorism. No military installation was targeted in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.”

She also announced that nine terrorist camps were destroyed.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said, "India is ready to deal with any misadventure by Pakistan."

The women officers shared details of how the strikes were carried out, specifying the locations of the targeted sites.

"During Operation Sindoor, no military installations were targeted in Pakistan. The chosen terror sites were based on credible intelligence and their involvement in cross-border terrorism,” said Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.

She also shared video footage that demonstrated successful strikes on terror camps in Muridke and other parts of Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The footage, captured by onboard targeting systems and surveillance drones, showed multiple direct hits on key terrorist infrastructure, including camps linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

When Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sofiya Qureshi took the stage to share details and visuals of India's unprecedented counterattack against terror, a heart-wrenching video played in the background.

It showed the terror attacks in India in the past decade, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2002 attack on Gujarat's Aksharadham Temple, the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the attacks in Uri and Pulwama and the Pahalgam tragedy.

"More than 350 Indian civilians have succumbed to cross-border terrorism in the past decade, and 800 have been injured in these dastardly acts of violence... over 600 security personnel have laid down their lives and more than 1,400 have been injured while protecting the nation from this scourge of cross-border terrorism," a message said. It then added, "...No More...", followed by "Operation Sindoor."

Indo-Asian News Service