Jaish-e-Mohammed's New Women Brigade: Masood Azhar's Strategy to Counter Indian Female Military Presence

Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar claims that "enemies" have placed "Hindu women into the Army," necessitating the formation of the terror group's women brigade, Jamaat ul-Mominaat, as a countermeasure. In a 21-minute audio recording obtained by NDTV, Azhar explains that these enemies have also positioned "female journalists against us," prompting him to "mobilize women to compete and fight against them."

The speech, reportedly delivered at Markaz Usman-o-Ali in Bahawalpur, outlines the comprehensive strategy for training, indoctrinating, and deploying female operatives under this new Jaish wing. The terror organization has been responsible for numerous attacks on Indian soil, including the devastating incidents in Uri and Pulwama.

According to Azhar, female recruits will receive training comparable to their male counterparts. While men undergo the 15-day "Daura-e-Tarbiat" course, women joining Jamaat-ul-Mominaat will participate in an induction program called "Daura-e-Taskiya," conducted at Markaz Usman-o-Ali.

The first phase of Jaish indoctrination, Daura-e-Tarbiat, concentrates on radicalizing recruits and persuading them that engaging in terrorist activities against India will secure their place in Paradise. Following this same ideology, Azhar promises that any woman who joins Jamaat-ul-Mominaat "will go straight to paradise after death." After completing this initial course, women advance to the second phase, "Daura-Ayat-ul-Nisah," where they are taught interpretations of Islamic texts that allegedly "instruct women to conduct jihad."

Azhar has declared that Jamaat-ul-Mominaat branches will be established throughout every district in Pakistan, each led by a muntazima (manager) responsible for recruiting women.

The terrorist leader imposes stringent regulations on women joining the brigade, prohibiting them from communicating with "unrelated men through phone or messenger, except their husbands or immediate family members."

Previous reports indicated that Azhar had appointed his sister, Sadiya Azhar, to head the women's brigade. The leadership also includes Azhar's other sister, Samaira Azhar, and Afeera Farooq, wife of terrorist and Pulwama attack orchestrator Umar Farooq.

In his address, Azhar mentions that Jamaat-ul-Mominaat includes 4-5 women whose family members were killed in confrontations with the Indian Army. He encourages female recruits to read his book "Ae Musalman Behna."

Fourteen members of Azhar's family reportedly perished during Operation Sindoor, India's retaliatory strike following the Pahalgam terror attack. Azhar reveals in the audio that his elder sister, Hawa Bibi, died in this operation. He recounts that he had conceptualized the women's brigade with his sister before her death.

The establishment of Jaish's women brigade demonstrates that terrorist organizations continue to flourish in Pakistan, contradicting Islamabad's assertions about combating terrorism in international forums.

This development coincides with women officers assuming critical combat positions in India's defense forces. In a related incident, Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh was photographed with President Droupadi Murmu at Haryana's Ambala Air Force base after giving the President a personal tour of the new Rafale multi-role fighter. This photograph effectively countered Pakistani media claims that Squadron Leader Singh's fighter jet had been shot down during Operation Sindoor and that she had been captured.