Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) reportedly launched its first women’s wing, “Jamaat-ul-Mominaat." WION cited sources as saying that the wing will be led by Sadiya Azhar, the sister of UN-designated terrorist Masood Azhar.
Sadiya Azhar's husband Yusuf Azhar was reportedly killed during Operation Sindoor on May 7 when Indian forces targeted JeM’s Markaz Subhanallah base.
According to reports, a letter was issued in the name of JeM chief and UN-designated terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar. It revealed the formation of the women's wing.
The letter shared by JeM’s propaganda outlet Al-Qalam Media stated that Jamaat-ul-Mominaat will function as the women’s brigade of the outfit.
Recruitment for the new unit reportedly began on Wednesday, October 8, at Markaz Usman-o-Ali in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, the report added.
Recruitment drives reportedly focused on the wives of JeM commanders and economically vulnerable women studying at the group’s centres in Bahawalpur, Karachi, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Haripur, and Mansehra, several reports claimed.
Intelligence inputs indicated that Masood Azhar and his brother Talha al-Saif jointly approved the inclusion of women in JeM’s operational structure, paving the way for this new female brigade.
The Indian armed forces had targeted JeM's headquarters in Bahawalpur, southern Punjab, during Operation Sindoor.
Following the strike, a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander had admitted that the family of the terror group's chief Masood Azhar was "torn into pieces" in the Indian missile strikes on May 7 on the outfit's headquarters in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
In a viral video uploaded to a YouTube channel on Tuesday, JeM commander Ilyas Kashmiri was heard fuming over the Indian attack that killed the family members of Azhar and also bragging about fighting in neighbouring countries for Pakistan.
The Indian armed forces had carried out missile strikes on the terror targets, including Bahawalpur, a stronghold of the JeM terror group, on May 7 as part of Operation Sindoor — in a powerful retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack.
