New Delhi/Islamabad: An audio clip focussing on the Jaish-e-Mohammed JeM’s women’s wing – the Jamaat-al-Mominaat – has surfaced ahead of the first anniversary of the Pahalgam terror strike.
The clip, attributed to commander Abdul Rauf, goes on to detail efforts to expand the Jamaat-al-Mominaat’s ideological footprint across Pakistan.
“From Karachi to Bahawalpur, from Bahawalpur to Peshawar, Jamaat-al-Mominaat is active across the country. On the orders of Masood Azhar, women are being invited towards four things – faith, prayers, jihad, and purdah,” Rauf is heard saying in the message.
Women are being “corrupted in the name of employment”, he goes on to say, urging them to stay away from television.
Rauf also addresses the youth, with a call to discourage them from seeking jobs abroad, as reported by timesnow.in.
The message is of interest to India as the JeM is known to have already launched the women’s wing in this country as well. The wing is designed to push extremist ideology while expanding the group’s recruitment base among women.
The timing is significant. It comes on the eve of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack anniversary. The gruesome attack that killed 26 innocents, marked a major escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targetting nine terror facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of at least 100 terrorists, including those from the JeM.
Masood Azhar has vowed to avenge the attacks. Several JeM modules have been busted in India since then.
The resurfacing of such propaganda material ahead of key dates is part of a broader attempt to revive networks and signal relevance, intelligence agencies believe. Vigilance has been stepped up ahead of the anniversary, even as authorities continue to track online and offline radicalisation efforts linked to groups like the JeM.
