Intelligence agencies in India have uncovered a new and alarming strategy adopted by the Pakistani terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The group is using emotionally charged and religiously persuasive campaigns to target and recruit educated Muslim women, primarily in urban regions. Operating under the pretext of faith-based service, these groups exploit religion and emotion to manipulate and radicalize their targets. This approach, described as a form of "psychological warfare," is designed to influence minds and subtly draw women into extremist networks under the guise of religious devotion and moral duty.
Recent findings reveal that Urdu-language propaganda, circulated online, employs images of Mecca and Medina alongside Quranic verses and emotive religious appeals. The material urges women to engage in what appears to be harmless acts of faith—such as performing daily prayers, giving charity, and adhering to the hijab—but the true intention is to indoctrinate and recruit them into JeM’s operations. India Today TV accessed visuals from Jama’atul-Muminat, a group associated with this campaign, where messages promoting religious service are cleverly disguised tools of radicalization.
According to intelligence inputs, this organization, active since 2004, has been preying upon unsuspecting women across regions such as Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and parts of South India. It functions through small, tightly knit cells that communicate via WhatsApp, Telegram, and madrasa networks. Investigations have also confirmed the involvement of Pakistani handlers, linking these online and offline efforts directly to Jaish-e-Mohammed’s broader recruitment machinery.
The methods employed to brainwash women rely heavily on religious symbolism and emotionally manipulative language. Terminologies like “service of the faith,” “ikhlaas” (sincerity), and “Nizaam-e-Shariat” (system of Islamic law) are repeatedly used to project the organization’s actions as noble and divinely inspired. Emotional slogans such as “This system is given by Allah” and “This light will spread across the world” reinforce a sense of spiritual duty and communal purpose. By portraying their activities as acts of “blessing,” “mercy,” and “protection,” these groups disguise terrorism as a sacred mission.
In response to these growing threats, Indian forces have intensified their counterterrorism measures. During Operation Sindoor, the Indian military successfully dismantled at least nine major terrorist bases belonging to JeM and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Punjab. Following these strikes, intelligence reports indicate that several of these terrorist outfits, supported by renewed funding, have begun relocating their bases deeper into the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. This relocation aims to shield them from future Indian precision strikes, but defense officials maintain that even remote hideouts will not remain beyond India’s reach if provoked.
Highlighting the government’s firm stance, Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi recently issued a strong warning to Islamabad. He cautioned that Pakistan risked being wiped off the global map if it continued to engage in and support state-sponsored terrorism. The message underscores India’s resolve to counter extremist operations at every level—whether through military action, intelligence surveillance, or digital counter-propaganda—ensuring that networks like Jaish-e-Mohammed and their deceptive recruitment tactics are systematically dismantled.
