Former Indian tennis player Sania Mirza has shared powerful message on social media, reacting to two women officers briefing the media on India’s execution of ‘Operation Sindoor’ on Wednesday. Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh flanked Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Wednesday morning during the briefing about Operation Sindoor, which was a joint operation by the Indian Army and the Air Force, striking nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Sania Mirza celebrated the briefing made by two women officers of different religions.
Mirza shared a post by journalist Faye D’Souza, who had written the following in reaction to the briefing done by Col Sofiya and Wing Commander Vyomika.
“The messaging in this very powerful photo perfectly captures who we are as a nation,” was written by D’Souza in the post, which was later shared by Mirza.
Mirza, 38, is widely regarded as one of India’s greatest-ever tennis players and female athletes, having won six Grand Slam titles in tennis. Mirza was ranked as the No. 1 doubles player in the world in 2015.
Operation Sindoor
At a press briefing in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, flanked by Colonel Sophia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, said the operation was a “measured and proportionate” response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. That assault, attributed to Pakistan-based terror groups, claimed the lives of 26 people, including one Nepali national, and left many others injured.
Colonel Qureshi said that the operation marked a shift in strategy. “For the last three decades, Pakistan has been constructing terror infrastructure, including recruitment centres, training areas, and launch pads across PoJK and Pakistan. This operation was intended to dismantle those facilities and prevent future attacks,” she said.
The missile strikes targeted facilities in Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bahawalpur, Rawalakot, Chakswari, Bhimber, Neelum Valley, Jhelum, and Chakwal, all areas long suspected by intelligence agencies of harbouring terrorist camps. These sites were believed to be affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), two terror groups responsible for multiple attacks in India over the years.
Of the nine locations hit, five were in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and four were within mainland Pakistan. Bahawalpur, notably, has been a known stronghold of JeM. Muzaffarabad and Bhimber had previously been identified by Indian security agencies as transit and logistics points for infiltration into Kashmir.
Over 70 terrorists were killed, and more than 60 sustained injuries. The strikes were carried out using a mix of ground-launched and air-launched missiles
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