Pakistan’s JeM Starts ‘Jihadi Course’ for Women Under New Wing Jamat-ul-Muminat

Islamabad: In a disturbing new move, Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has launched an online “Jihadi course” aimed at recruiting women and raising funds for its newly formed women’s wing, Jamat-ul-Muminat, according to media reports.

The course, titled “Tufat al-Muminat”, is being promoted as a religious training programme but serves as a tool for recruitment and radicalisation. JeM, which is UN-designated as a terrorist organisation, is reportedly charging PKR 500 per enrolment.

Each session will feature 40-minute daily lectures delivered by female relatives of top JeM leaders. Heading the programme are Masood Azhar’s sisters — Sadiya Azhar and Samaira Azhar — who will urge women to join the newly established Jamat-ul-Muminat.

Sadiya’s husband, Yusuf Azhar, a key JeM commander, was killed in Operation Sindoor, the Indian military’s retaliatory strike following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Several other members of the Azhar family were also eliminated in the operation, conducted on the night of May 6–7.

Another key trainer is Afreera Farooq, wife of Umar Farooq, one of the masterminds of the 2019 Pulwama attack.

The online recruitment drive is set to begin on November 8, and sources tracking JeM’s activities told the Hindustan Times that the group is targeting wives of slain or active commanders and financially vulnerable women studying at JeM-affiliated centres.

Analysts believe the move to digital platforms is part of JeM’s strategy to exploit Pakistan’s conservative social structure, where many women are discouraged from venturing out alone. The online format, they say, provides a covert way to indoctrinate and mobilise women under the guise of religious education.