Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has announced the launch of its first women’s wing, Jamaat-ul-Mominat. The move was revealed in a letter issued in the name of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief and UN-designated terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar. The recruitment process for the new unit began on Wednesday, October 8 at Markaz Usman-o-Ali in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. According to the letter shared by Jaish-e-Mohammed’s propaganda medium Al-Kalam Media, Jamaat-ul-Mominat will serve as the women’s brigade of the organisation.
Read this also: Taliban’s explosive entry in India, received a warm welcome, first picture revealed!
The wing will be led by Masood Azhar’s sister Sadia Azhar, whose husband Yusuf Azhar was killed during Operation Sindoor on May 7, when the Indian Army targeted Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Markaz Subhanallah base, sources said. The recruitment drive reportedly focuses on wives of Jaish-e-Mohammed commanders and economically weaker women studying in the group’s centers in Bahawalpur, Karachi, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Haripur and Mansehra. It is noteworthy that during Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army had targeted the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur, Southern Punjab. After this attack, Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Ilyas Kashmiri claimed in a video released last month that several members of Masood Azhar’s family were killed in this attack.
Read this also: The balance of power is changing, Jaishankar targets America through gestures
Jaish-e-Mohammed, a terrorist organization inspired by the Deobandi ideology, had banned women from joining armed jihad or participating in combat roles. However, after the Pahalgam terrorist attack and Operation Sindoor, the group appears to have revised its policy. Intelligence indicates that Masood Azhar and his brother Talha al-Saif jointly approved the inclusion of women in the operational structure of Jaish-e-Mohammed, paving the way for this new women’s brigade.