New Delhi: Two senior women officers, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi of the Indian Army and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force briefed the global media alongside Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Operation Sindoor, India’s latest surgical strike across the Line of Control.

The operation was launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April, which claimed the lives of 26 Indian civilians. Targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK), the strikes were described by defence experts as highly precise and intelligence-led.

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Two women officers to brief media on Operation Sindoor

Who are these women officers?

Colonel Sofiya Qureshi

Colonel Qureshi made history in 2016 as the first woman officer to command an Indian Army contingent in a multinational military exercise. Exercise Force 18, held in Pune, brought together 18 countries for peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. Qureshi was the sole woman leading a contingent at the event, a distinction that earned her national recognition.

A senior officer from the Corps of Signals, Col Qureshi plays a crucial role in defence communications and information systems. She is also a veteran of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Congo, where she served in 2006. With over six years of experience in peacekeeping and conflict resolution, she brings operational depth to India’s messaging around Operation Sindoor.

Background

Hailing from Gujarat, Col Qureshi holds a postgraduate degree in biochemistry and comes from a military family. Her grandfather served in the Indian Army, and she is married to an officer in the Mechanised Infantry. Known for her professionalism and strategic insight, she was selected from a pool of peacekeeping trainers to lead India’s international military engagement at Exercise Force 18.

“Being a 'Fauji' kid, I was exposed to the army environment. My mother wanted either of us two sisters to join the Army. I applied for it and got it. My grandfather was also in the Army, and he used to say, 'It is our responsibility, as every citizen, to be alert and stand up for our country and defend the nation. ' It is a dignified and honourable job,” she had recalled.

She also said that when she "joined the academy, the Kargil war was going on".

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh

Wing Commander Singh’s journey to the skies began with a childhood dream. Inspired by her name—“Vyomika,” meaning 'sky-bound'—she aspired to fly from a young age. She joined the National Cadet Corps (NCC) during her school years, pursued engineering, and eventually became the first in her family to join the armed forces.

"I was in Class 6 when the Eureka moment happened -- I realised that I wanted to be a pilot and own the sky. We were having a discussion in class on the meaning of names. Somebody shouted, ‘You are Vyomika, which means you own the sky'. Since that day, I have wanted to be a pilot. This was in the early 1990s,” Vyomika recalled during the panel discussion.

On 18 December 2019, she was commissioned into the flying branch of the Indian Air Force as a helicopter pilot, receiving a permanent commission. Since then, she has amassed over 2,500 flying hours, operating Chetak and Cheetah helicopters across some of India’s most hostile terrains, including Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East.

Veteran of high-risk operations

Her operational experience includes leading critical rescue missions, notably in Arunachal Pradesh in November 2020, where she flew in extreme weather and treacherous terrain to deliver essential aid and evacuate civilians. These missions, often conducted at high altitudes with minimal ground support, are vital to India's disaster response and civil-military coordination.

In addition to her frontline duties, Wing Commander Singh took part in a tri-services all-women mountaineering expedition to Mt. Manirang in 2021. At 21,650 feet, the peak presented extreme physical and mental challenges, highlighting her endurance and spirit of service. The expedition drew praise from the highest ranks, including the Chief of Air Staff.

The Indian government’s decision to place Col Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh at the forefront of the Operation Sindoor briefing is being seen as more than a public relations gesture. It reflects a changing defence culture that recognises merit, modern warfare communication, and gender inclusion at the highest levels of national security discourse.