On a day that India struck at terror targets deep inside Pakistan, one family stood proud as their duaghter Colonel Sofiya Qureshi was entrusted with the duty of briefing the nation on the crucial strike.
Her father, Taj Mohammed Qureshi, said, “We are very proud. Our daughter has done a great thing for our country… Pakistan should be destroyed… My grandfather, my father, and I were all in the army. Now she is, too.”
Sofiya’s mother, Halima Qureshi, also expressed pride over the successful execution of Operation Sindoor, which targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK), saying that the Indian Army have avenged the sindoors of our sisters and mothers.
She noted that Sofiya had long aspired to follow in her father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, who both served in the Indian Army. “As a child, she often said that she would join the army when she grew up,” Halima Qureshi added.
“We have avenged the sindoors of our sisters and mothers… Sofiya wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father and grandfather, who were also in the army. She used to say as a child that when she grew up, she would join the army,” she told ANI.
Mohammed Sanjay Qureshi, brother of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, also expressed similar sentiments, saying the country had been waiting for a long time for revenge following the Pahalgam terror attack. But could never have expected such revenge.
Qureshi also expressed his surprise that his sister was allowed to brief the media about the operation, saying that he was surprised his sister was given such a big opportunity.
“She is my idol… We were waiting for a long time for revenge. But we could never have expected such revenge, or for the press conference to be conducted by a family member. We were pleasantly surprised that our family got such a big opportunity,” he told ANI.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh briefed the media on Wednesday in New Delhi about Operation Sindoor.
The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of Wednesday, targeting terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). This operation was a retaliatory response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians, including one Nepali national.
Hours after India conducted a series of strikes on terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh held a media briefing in the national capital to share the details of the operation.
Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, who briefed the media alongside Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Colonel Qureshi, stated that ‘Operation Sindoor’ was launched to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families.
Singh reported that a total of nine terror sites were targeted and successfully destroyed. She emphasised that the locations were chosen to ensure there was no damage to civilians or their infrastructure.
“Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families. Nine terrorist camps were targeted and successfully destroyed… The locations were so selected to avoid damage to civilian infrastructures and loss of any civilian lives”, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi presented the videos of the destruction of terror camps, including from the Muridke and where David Headley and Ajmal Kasab, perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, received training. Other than Muridke, Sarjal camp in Sialkot, Markaz Ahle Hadith, Barnala and Markaz Abbas, Kotli and Mehmoona Joya camp, Sialkot, were targeted in the strikes conducted by the Indian Army, Colonel Qureshi informed.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the attack on Pahalgam was driven by an objective of undermining the return of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The attack in Pahalgam was marked with extreme barbarity, with the victims mostly killed with head shots at close range and in front of their family…the family members were deliberately traumatised through the manner of killing, accompanied by the exhortation that they should take back the message. The attack was clearly driven by the objective of undermining normalcy returning to Kashmir,” he said.
India has carried out its deepest strikes inside Pakistan’s undisputed territory since 1971, successfully targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. This marks New Delhi’s most significant military action within Pakistani territory in over five decades. (ANI)
