New Delhi: Indian Army Officer Colonel Sofiya Qureshi’s old interview is making rounds on social media where she revealed how she joined the armed forces. Qureshi made headlines for her strong command during a press briefing after ‘Operation Sindoor’ alongside Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. In Ministry of External Affairs press briefing on Operation Sindoor strategic details of India’s retaliatory strikes after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack were shared.
A video from Colonel Sofiya Qureshi’s 2017 interview has resurfaced on social media in which she revealed a significant ancestral connection to the 1857 revolt. She shared that her great-grandmother was a woman warrior who fought alongside the freedom fighter Rani Laxmibai during this uprising. In the Interview shew shared, “I am a Fauji kid, so I have been exposed to the Army environment, and not only that, my great-grandmother was with Rani Laxmi Bai, she was a woman warrior,” she said. Raised in an army family, she shared the significant reason that played a crucial role in her decision to join the armed forces. She revealed that it was her mother who encouraged either her or her twin sister to enlist. She shared, ”My mother wanted either of us because we are two sisters she wanted.. she is in NCC she is joining would you like to join I said, If i’m getting an opportunity I would like to So, I applied for it and I got it.”
Indian Army Officer Sofiya Qureshi shared her ancestral roots, having been raised in a household with strong ties to the Indian military. Her father and grandfather both served in the armed forces. ”My grandfather, who was also in the Army, he used to say Vayam Rashtre Jagrayam, It is the responsibility of every citizen to be alert and stand up for our country and with the nation.’ Her Father fought in the 1971 Bangladesh war. This multi-generational tradition of service has shaped her values.
Colonel Qureshi is a decorated Indian Army officer and comes from Vadodara, Gujarat. She was commissioned into the Indian Army through the Officers Training Academy in 1999 and has served in various posts across the country. Colonel Sophia Qureshi is the first woman officer to lead an Army training contingent in a multinational military exercise. She commanded a 40-member Indian Army contingent at ‘Exercise Force 18’, as per ANI report.
She was the only Woman officer contingent Commander among all the ASEAN Plus contingents. The exercise held was in Pune, and 18 ASEAN Plus countries, including China, the USA, Russia, Japan, and South Korea, had participated in it. According to ET report, she had served with the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) for six years and was a part of the UN Mission in Congo in 2006.
In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, India’s retaliatory strikes, called ‘Operation Sindoor,’ targeted and destroyed nine terror hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) early in the morning on May 7. According to the Ministry of Defence, the Indian Air Force conducted precision strikes on four terror sites inside Pakistan and five within PoK. The ministry in the press conference described the operation as ‘focused, measured and non-escalatory,’ adding that no Pakistani military installations were targeted. ‘These actions are in direct response to the horrific Pahalgam attack,”. “We are upholding our commitment to ensure that those responsible for the attack face consequences.’ The defence ministry further said in its statement.
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