New Delhi : Colonel
SofiyaQuereshi, in a press briefing on Wednesday, confirmed that nine terrorist
camps and training facilities were destroyed during Operation Sindoor, India's
military response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
She stated that targets
were carefully chosen based on 'credible intelligence inputs' that linked them
directly to cross-border terrorism.
"Colonel Qureshi
said, "Only the terrorist installations, from those that had planned and
launched terror strikes against India in the past, to those radicalising men
and women, were targeted. The chosen targets included a Lashkar-e-Taiba
terrorist training base in Muridke, which is roughly 40 kilometres north of
Lahore."
"This base had
trained AjmalKasab and David Headley, the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks
on 26 November 2008 in which over 150 people were killed," she added.
In a detailed press
briefing, Colonel Qureshi presented video footage confirming successful missile
strikes on terrorist camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and
Kashmir, carried out under 'Operation Sindoor'. The videos, captured onboard
targeting systems and surveillance drones, showed direct hits on multiple key
terror infrastructure targets.
"Among camps
targeted were Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke and Jaish-e-Mohammed's
headquarters in Bahawalpur. Muridke, notably, is the site where 2008 Mumbai
attack terrorists AjmalKasab and David Headley were trained," Colonel
Quereshi said.
She highlighted a major
strategic shift in India's counter-terrorism approach. "For over three
decades, Pakistan has built and maintained terror infrastructure, including
training camps, recruitment centres, and launchpads, across its territory and in
PoJK. This operation was aimed at dismantling those facilities to prevent
future attacks on Indian soil," she stated.
She also confirmed that
terror camps such as Sarjal near Sialkot, just six kilometres inside Pakistan,
were destroyed. This particular camp was used to train militants responsible
for the killing of four Jammu and Kashmir police personnel.
Other targeted sites
included:
MarkazAhle Hadith, Barnala (9 Km from the LoC)
Markaz Abbas, Kotli (13 Km from the LoC)
MarkazSubhan Allah, Bahawalpur, a major JeM stronghold.
She emphasised that only terror-linked facilities were targeted. "No Pakistani military installations were hit, and there are no reports of civilian casualties so far," she added.
The government on Wednesday said that India exercised its right to respond, preempt as well as deter more cross-border attacks such as the one in Pahalgam, and asserted that it focused on dismantling the terror infrastructure and disabling terrorists.
The statement was made at a media briefing by Foreign Secretary VikramMisri, Col. Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh after Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke.
The military strikes were conducted under Operation Sindoor two weeks after the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. Misri said the actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible.