Pakistan-based militant leader Masood Azhar has outlined a plan to recruit and train women for Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), according to Indian broadcasters and newspapers that say they obtained a 21‑minute audio message recorded in Bahawalpur. The reports, published in late October, describe the creation of a women’s wing — variously spelled Jamaat‑ul‑Mominat/Mominaat — and a two‑stage indoctrination program. Globally Pulse has not independently verified the recording.
The development is significant because bringing women into JeM’s operational ecosystem would complicate detection for security agencies and signal the group’s intent to regenerate after recent battlefield losses.
What the leaked audio describes
In the recording, Azhar is heard setting out an induction course called “Daura‑e‑Taskiya,” modeled on JeM’s long‑running male curriculum, followed by a second module, “Daura‑Ayat‑ul‑Nisah,” focused on religious justification for violence, according to coverage by NDTV, The Week and ABP News. The reports say he urges women to study his pamphlet “Ae Musalman Behna” and imposes strict communication rules limiting contact with unrelated men.
Indian outlets further report that classes for women have begun online, with a nominal fee of 500 Pakistani rupees per enrollee and daily sessions led by women close to the leadership, including Azhar’s sisters. They also cite internal JeM posters naming local “muntazima” (district organizers) tasked with recruitment across Pakistan. These claims come from Indian media reporting; JeM and Pakistani authorities have not issued public statements that corroborate the details.
Why JeM is shifting tactics now
JeM has been under unusual pressure since India’s May 7 strikes — codenamed Operation Sindoor — on nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan‑administered Kashmir that New Delhi described as “terror infrastructure.” According to Reuters, India said the sites included locations tied to JeM in Bahawalpur and Lashkar‑e‑Taiba (LeT) in Muridke, actions it framed as retaliation for a mass shooting of tourists in Kashmir on April 22. Pakistan denied harboring active militant headquarters and reported fatalities from the strikes, while vowing to respond.
The April 22 attack near the hill town of Pahalgam killed at least 20 people, with security sources putting the toll as high as 26, in the region’s deadliest civilian assault in years, Reuters reported at the time. The escalation culminated in an agreement on May 10 to halt fire across land, air and sea; India cast the cease‑fire as a pause, not an end, to military options, the Associated Press reported separately.
JeM’s attempt to mobilize women should be read against that immediate backdrop: the group faces disrupted infrastructure, leadership losses and sustained scrutiny from India and foreign partners. A pivot to digital recruitment and gender‑diverse cadres can reduce physical exposure while projecting resilience to supporters.
JeM’s status and the regional context
JeM and LeT are designated terrorist organizations by the U.N. Security Council. JeM’s founder, Masood Azhar, was individually listed by the U.N. sanctions committee in 2019, subjecting him to an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo. Reuters has profiled both groups’ histories and Pakistan‑based footprints, noting JeM’s ties to al‑Qaeda and the Taliban and its presence around Bahawalpur, and LeT’s complex in Muridke often described by Pakistan as a charitable site despite international designations.
Pakistan has issued mixed statements over the years about Azhar’s whereabouts. In 2019, then‑foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi acknowledged Azhar was in Pakistan but said he was “very unwell,” while more recently senior politicians have suggested he might be in Afghanistan; neither claim has been independently verified. Islamabad denies it provides safe haven to proscribed groups and says it complies with international counterterrorism obligations.
Women in militant campaigns — and what that implies
While female recruitment would be a notable shift for JeM, the tactic is not new globally. Security researchers and counterterrorism officials have documented how extremist organizations enlist women to broaden manpower, exploit gendered security gaps and amplify propaganda value. For instance, suspected female suicide bombers have repeatedly been used in northeast Nigeria’s conflict; at least 18 people were killed in a series of such attacks in Gwoza in June 2024 and 12 in a market blast in Borno state in June 2025, according to Reuters and subsequent reporting.
Experts say groups turn to women in part because social norms can make them appear less suspicious at checkpoints, and because online indoctrination tools lower barriers to entry. If JeM operationalizes the women’s wing described in the alleged audio, Indian and Pakistani authorities will likely face a changed threat profile that stresses community‑level vigilance, digital surveillance and tailored deradicalization programs for women.
Official responses and next steps
New Delhi has long pressed Islamabad to prosecute JeM’s leadership and dismantle its network. After May’s escalation, both countries publicly endorsed de‑escalation mechanisms while trading accusations about cross‑border militancy. Pakistan’s government, for its part, condemned India’s strikes as unlawful and said any civilian deaths on its territory would be avenged, The Guardian reported on May 7.
Independent verification of the late‑October audio remains a key test. If authenticated, it would indicate an ideological and organizational broadening that aligns with patterns seen in other theaters. If not, the publicity around the recording still serves JeM’s propaganda objective of signaling momentum and soliciting funds.
For readers tracking the India–Pakistan security dynamic, the throughline is clear: April’s massacre in Kashmir, May’s cross‑border strikes, and now the reported push to mobilize women all point to an evolving playbook. Authorities in South Asia will weigh the risk of female‑led plots against the need to keep de‑escalation channels open after the spring’s crisis, even as international partners maintain pressure on proscribed groups’ financing and online networks. For continuing coverage and analysis, visit Globally Pulse News.
