Masood Azhar (File photo)

Days after Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) announced the formation of its first-ever women’s wing, Jamaat-ul-Mominaat, the group has now launched an online training course to expand recruitment and collect funds from women, according to media reports.The digital course, namely ‘Tufat al-Muminat’ aims to attract as many women as possible to the outfit’s network. The initiative is being led by Sadiya Azhar, sister of JeM chief Masood Azhar.

Her husband, Yusuf Azhar, was killed in Operation Sindoor on May 7, when armed forces targeted JeM’s headquarters at Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur.Sources said that Masood Azhar’s sisters, Sadiya and Samaira Azhar, will conduct 40-minute online classes daily, beginning November 8, using meeting platforms to teach women about their “duties” from the perspectives of jihad, religion and Islam.Each participant enrolling in the course is reportedly being asked to pay a donation of PKR 500 and fill out an online form. Intelligence sources indicate that the program is part of JeM’s broader effort to rebuild its base and financing network following significant losses in airstrikes during Operation Sindoor earlier this year.The announcement comes weeks after JeM publicly introduced its women’s brigade on October 8, followed by an event titled ‘Dukhtaran-e-Islam’ held in Rawalakot, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, on October 19 to mobilise women supporters.Security officials say JeM’s decision to involve women marks a major shift in its operational strategy. The organisation, along with others such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen, had previously avoided using women in active combat roles. Sources suggest that this move is viewed as a potential signal that JeM could begin training female suicide attackers, similar to tactics employed by groups like ISIS, Boko Haram, Hamas and LTTE.The development also underscores Pakistan’s continued tolerance of terror infrastructure on its soil. Despite Islamabad’s claims at global platforms of being a victim of terrorism and its assertions of compliance with FATF regulations, JeM and other banned groups reportedly continue to operate and collect donations openly through their network of markaz (centres).In September, Masood Azhar was also reported to have made a public appeal for funds during an address at Markaz Usman O Ali in Bahawalpur. Meanwhile, intelligence inputs suggest that JeM, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen have shifted their bases to Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to avoid Indian airstrikes after Operation Sindoor.According to media reports, JeM has additionally launched an online fundraising campaign via EasyPaisa, seeking to raise Rs 3.91 billion for constructing 313 new centres across Pakistan.’