The Indian armed forces on Wednesday held a press conference operation sindoor, the country’s retaliatory strike to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The briefing was led by Colonel Sofiya Qureshi of the Indian Army and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force.
What is pertinent is that Colonel Qureshi’s achievements in the Army were highlighted in detail by the Supreme Court of India in its landmark judgment of February 2020 granting permanent commission to women officers in armed forces.
That judgment was authored by Justices DY Chandrachud and Ajay Rastogi.
The Judgement:
The judgment said that women officers of the Indian Army have brought laurels to the force and those are documented during the course of proceedings. It then proceeded to highlight some of the achievements of individual women, with Qureshi’s name featuring at the top of the list.
As per the same, Qureshi was the first woman to lead an Indian Army contingent at a multi-national military exercise. She also served in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operation in Congo in 2006.
“Lieutenant Colonel Sophia Qureshi (Army Signal Corps) is the first woman to lead an Indian Army contingent at a multi-national military exercise named ‘Exercise Force 18’ which is the largest ever foreign military exercise hosted by India. She has served in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operation in Congo in 2006 where she, along with others, was in charge of monitoring ceasefires in those countries and aiding in humanitarian activities. Her job included ensuring peace in conflict affected areas,” the Court noted in its judgment.
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