Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), led by Masood Azhar, has announced a major shift in its strategy by forming its first-ever women’s wing. The group, which earlier kept women away from combat roles, has now launched “Jamaat-ul-Mominaat” from its base in Bahawalpur.
The decision comes months after JeM suffered heavy losses in Operation Sindoor, when Indian forces struck its headquarters in Bahawalpur. Masood Azhar admitted that the strike killed ten members of his family and four close aides, including his elder sister and her husband. Now, his surviving sister Sadiya Azhar, the widow of slain commander Yusuf Azhar, will lead the new women’s brigade.
JeM has begun recruiting wives of its commanders and poor women from its religious centers in Bahawalpur, Karachi, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Haripur, and Mansehra. According to sources, the group intends to train female suicide bombers, following the path of outfits like ISIS and Boko Haram.
The new wing also plans to expand into India through online networks. Social media groups and encrypted apps are being used to target educated urban women, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and southern states. JeM hopes to lure them with emotional religious propaganda.
JeM is already responsible for deadly attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament assault and the 2019 Pulwama bombing.
