Operation Sindoor: Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh explain why India carried out strikes on terror sites in Pakistan

The Indian Armed Forces on Wednesday, provided detailed insights into Operation Sindoor, a precision strike operation launched to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation for the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack. Addressing a press briefing in the national capital hours after the targeted strikes by India, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh outlined the objectives of the operation.

A total of nine terror sites in Pakistan including five in PoK linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were targetted with meticulous planning to avoid civilian casualties.Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, addressing the briefing, detailed the specific terror camps targeted in PoK. "Shawai Nallah Camp in Muzaffarabad is a Lashkar-e-Taiba camp. Terrorists responsible for attacks in Sonamarg on October 20, 2024, Gulmarg on October 24, 2024, and Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, were trained here," she said.

She further highlighted the Syedna Bilal camp in Muzaffarabad, a Jaish-e-Mohammed staging area serving as a "weapon, explosive, and jungle training centre". Qureshi also stated that the intelligence has identified Gulpur Camp in Kotli, 30 km from the Line of Control (LoC), as an LeT facility linked to the April 20, 2023, Poonch attack and the June 9, 2024, pilgrimage bus attack.