The UN-designated terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has launched an online course to recruit and indoctrinate Pakistani women under the banner of Jamat ul-Muminat, signaling a new phase in its digital radicalization strategy. The move, analysts say, exposes Islamabad’s contradictory stance on terror financing despite its claims of compliance with international watchdogs like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
A New Front in Radicalization
Documents accessed reveal that JeM’s new online course, titled Tufat al-Muminat, serves as both a recruitment drive and a fundraising initiative. Each participant is required to pay 500 Pakistani Rupees(₹158) and provide personal details through an online form — a structure that mirrors the group’s operational model of blending religious education with financial mobilization.
Scheduled to begin on November 8, the 40-minute daily sessions will be conducted via live online platforms, targeting women across Pakistan. The course is led by JeM’s inner circle — including Masood Azhar’s sisters, Sadiya and Samaira Azhar — who will instruct participants in Islamic ideology and the “perspectives of jihad, religion, and women’s duties in the organization.”
The Women of JeM’s New Brigade
JeM chief Masood Azhar has reportedly handed over command of the group’s women’s brigade to his younger sister, Sadiya Azhar. The Shura, or governing council, includes other family members such as Safia Azhar and Afreera Farooq — the wife of Umar Farooq, one of the masterminds behind the 2019 Pulwama terror attack who was later killed by Indian security forces.
This close-knit family leadership structure underscores the organization’s strategy of ensuring ideological loyalty within its ranks. By modeling the female wing after groups like ISIS, Hamas, and the LTTE, JeM aims to harness the symbolic and operational power of women’s participation — not only in recruitment but potentially in suicide or fedayeen operations.
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Exploiting Social Norms and Online Platforms
Pakistan’s conservative social norms often restrict women from public engagement, creating an environment where online spaces become powerful tools of influence. JeM has leveraged these digital channels to offer what it calls “religious education,” masking recruitment efforts behind cultural sensitivities and moral appeals.
Analysts warn that such digital indoctrination programs allow extremist organizations to bypass traditional oversight mechanisms. The model, they say, draws heavily from ISIS’s online propaganda strategies, where women are portrayed as both nurturers of faith and defenders of ideology — a framing that normalizes extremist participation within domestic and religious contexts.
Islamabad’s Double Bind: FATF Compliance and Terror Financing
The initiative has renewed scrutiny of Pakistan’s counterterrorism commitments. While Islamabad has long claimed compliance with FATF regulations, experts argue that allowing groups like JeM to operate online fundraising and recruitment programs reflects a deeper structural failure.
“The very fact that JeM can run these programs publicly — under religious or educational pretexts — shows how fragile Pakistan’s enforcement regime remains,” said one South Asia security analyst. “It’s a facade of compliance, not genuine accountability.”
