Islamabad: In a chilling escalation, Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has unveiled its inaugural women’s wing, ‘Jamaat al-Muminoon’, thrusting Masood Azhar’s sister Sadiya Azhar into the spotlight as its commander.
The announcement, via a letter purportedly from the UN-designated terrorist chief, signals a radical departure for the group, battered by India’s Operation Sindoor earlier this year.
Recruitment kicked off on October 8 at JeM’s Markaz Usman-o-Ali in Bahawalpur, targeting commanders’ widows and economically vulnerable women across training hubs in Bahawalpur, Karachi, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Haripur, and Mansehra. Sadiya, whose husband Yusuf Azhar perished in the May 7 strikes on JeM’s Subhanallah headquarters, now spearheads efforts to indoctrinate and arm female recruits — potentially for suicide missions, emulating tactics of ISIS, Boko Haram, Hamas, and LTTE.
Operation Sindoor, India’s precision retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre that claimed 26 lives, decimated JeM’s core: Azhar admitted to losing 14 family members, including his elder sister, her spouse, five children, a nephew, his wife, and a niece. This devastation, coupled with the neutralisation of top brass like Abdul Rauf Azhar, has forced JeM to overhaul its Deobandi doctrine, which once barred women from combat.
Sources reveal the group has been subtly brainwashing females since 2024, blending psychological warfare, propaganda, and grassroots enlistment to rebuild its depleted ranks.
While Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen shun female fighters, JeM’s gambit underscores its desperation. Intelligence agencies warn this could amplify threats to India, urging heightened vigilance amid the group’s post-strike relocation to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.