A major development inside Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed has raised serious security concerns. Over 5,000 women have reportedly been recruited into the outfit’s newly-launched women’s wing called Jamaat-ul-Mominaat, and intelligence agencies fear that the group is attempting to radicalise them for future attacks.
Jaish chief Masood Azhar recently made a social media post claiming that the number of women joining this new wing is growing fast. He even said that district-level units need to be formed now because of this rapid expansion.
In his message, Azhar wrote that many women who were recruited experienced a sudden change in their mindset and started believing that they had discovered their “goal of life.” He proudly stated that recruitment had taken place at a very fast pace and that every district will soon have its own muntazima, or manager. According to him, “In just a few weeks, more than 5,000 women have joined.”
Recruitment launched from Jaish headquarters
Sources in Indian security agencies believe the recruitment campaign for Jamaat-ul-Mominaat began on 8th October at Jaish’s headquarters, Markaz Usman-o-Ali. Women from locations such as Bahawalpur, Multan, Sialkot, Karachi, Muzaffarabad and Kotli were brought into the group under this drive. Separate offices for Jamaat-ul-Muminaat are to be established in every district of PoK.
The women’s wing is led by Sadia, Masood Azhar’s sister. Her husband, Yusuf Azhar, was killed during Operation Sindoor, when India struck terror camps in Pakistan after the deadly Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. Another key figure in this wing is Afira, the wife of Pulwama attack mastermind Umar Farooq, who was also killed in an encounter.
Online training and radicalisation plans
The women being recruited are trained online, with classes lasting around 40 minutes. Each participant has to pay ₹500 to attend these sessions.
Officials say the motive behind this large-scale recruitment is to create women-centric terror teams who can carry out fidayeen attacks, just like extremist groups ISIS, Hamas and LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) have done in the past.
This women’s wing came into focus after the Delhi’s Red Fort blast last month in which 15 people died. During the investigation, a woman named Dr Shaheen Saeed was arrested in Faridabad with a large cache of explosives. She has been linked to Jamaat-ul-Mominaat.
Strict rules for women fighters
Earlier, when the wing was announced, Azhar had said female recruits would receive training similar to male Jaish recruits. Instead of the usual 15-day Daura-e-Tarbiat course, women will go through a special programme called “Daura-e-Taskiya.” This training is supposed to take place at the Jaish headquarters itself.
Azhar has also issued strict rules for women joining the organisation, they are not allowed to talk to any unrelated man, whether on the phone or through social media, apart from their husbands or close family members.