First attack in Pakistan’s Punjab since 1971

Operation Sindoor strikes Pakistan, targeting terror infrastructure including LeT and JeM camps, led by female military officers.

Four of the nine strikes carried out under Operation Sindoor were on Pakistan’s territory, including its heartland, Punjab — marking the first time India has carried out a strike there since the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, 54 years ago.

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The targets chosen are connected to a series of terror attacks in India over the years. They are the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the Pathankot attack, the Uri terror attacks, and the Pahalgam attack on April 22, among others.

The government deployed two women officers to brief the media, and the world, on the operation — Colonel Sofiya Qureshi from the Army and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh from the Indian Air Force (IAF) — after the initial statement by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Colonel Qureshi is an officer from the Corps of Signals, presently commanding a Unit. She was selected for the role of Military Observer in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006. In March 2016, she became the first and only woman officer to lead an Army contingent at a multi-national military exercise, Force 18, hosted by India for interoperability in sustaining peace among the ASEAN nations.

Wing Commander Singh is a helicopter pilot flying Cheetah and Chetak, with over 2,500 hours flying hours to her credit. She is currently posted at the Directorate of Operations (Media & Public Relations) at the IAF headquarters in the national capital.

The strikes were carried out from 1.05 a.m. to 1.30 a.m. on Wednesday. All munitions struck their designated targets and the strikes were synchronised to avoid detection and maximise the element of surprise, sources in the know said. Real-time footage from unmanned aerial vehicles confirmed the destruction of target facilities. “The decision to target deep into Pakistani-administered territory was a departure from prior doctrine and marked a new level of strategic assertiveness,” a source observed.