Masood Azhar’s JeM launches first women’s wing Jamaat-ul-Mominaat in Pakistan, targets vulnerable women for recruitment. Photos: X.
Masood Azhar led Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a Pakistan-based terror group, backed by the country’s intelligence agencies and army, is now launching its first women’s wing called “Jamaat-ul-Mominaat”. Azhar, the UN-designated terrorist and the chief of JeM, revealed the move through a letter. The outfit is recruiting women, which reportedly began on Wednesday, October 8, at Markaz Usman-o-Ali in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
Jamaat-ul-Mominaat will be the women’s brigade of the terrorist organisation, the letter shared by JeM’s propaganda outlet Al-Qalam Media revealed.
According to reports, citing sources, the outfit will be headed by Masood Azhar’s sister, Sadiya Azhar. Sadiya’s husband was reportedly killed on May 7 during Operation Sindoor when Indian security forces hit JeM’s hideouts and Markaz in PoK.
According to reports, the recruitment targets poor and economically vulnerable women who study at the outfit’s centers in Pakistan and the PoK, including Bahawalpur, Karachi, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Haripur, and Mansehra. The group is also recruiting the spouses of JeM terrorists and commanders.
Notably, the Indian military had targeted JeM’s headquarters in Bahawalpur, southern Punjab, during Operation Sindoor. Following the strike, JeM commander Ilyas Kashmiri claimed in a video released last month that several members of Masood Azhar’s family were killed in the attack.
The development is seen as a first of its kind, as JeM, which follows the Deobandi school of Islam, traditionally bans women from joining the ranks of the jihadi terrorists. The outfit also believes in avoiding women from active combat roles.
According to reports citing intelligence inputs, JeM has changed its policy following India’s Operation Sindoor, which severely damaged the group’s facilities and infrastructure. The reports mention that Masood Azhar and his brother Talha al-Saif, both approved the policy change to include women in the jihadi role.
Terrorist groups like Islamic State or ISIS, Boko Haram, Hamas, and LTTE are also said to have women’s wings deployed as suicide bombers.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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