New Delhi, June 6 (IANS) Both the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are running active women’s wings in Pakistan. The Jaish-e-Mohammad hastened the formation of this wing after it suffered mighty blows during Operation Sindoor.

While the Jaish-e-Mohammad runs its women’s wing under the banner of Jamaat-ul-Muminaat (JuM), the Lashkar-e-Tayiba has two women’s wings meant for different purposes. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba’s Dukhtaran-e-Toiba (DeT) focuses on combat training for women, while the Taiyabbat operates as a social, ideological and political wing to mobilise women.

At the time of the formation, both Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed had said that these wings would also groom women to become suicide bombers who would eventually be used in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, the latest reports by the Indian Intelligence agencies suggest that on the combat front, these women’s wings have not made too much progress. Many women have been reluctant to join these outfits as they are not interested in becoming suicide bombers.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that while the women have been reluctant to take part in attacks, they readily agreed to play recruiters and spread radical messages on social media. Basically, these wings are operating more as propaganda machines. Another reason why the combat operations have not taken off is that both the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are reeling from the losses they suffered during Operation Sindoor. This indicates that the primary focus remains on reviving the men’s wing rather than promoting the women’s wing, an official said.

Officials say that the women’s outfits may not have taken off as the leadership or the ISI would have expected them to. This does not give us a reason to remain complicit, as the women are extremely good at recruitment and spreading Jihadi ideology. The leadership of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are making a heavy push to ensure that women can recruit in large numbers. They are being instructed to tap their family members, mainly men and rope them into the outfit.

Another official said that the agencies are scanning social media accounts to see what the members of these women’s wings are posting. They are not only targeting the youth in Pakistan, but are actively trying to reach out to people, especially in Jammu and Kashmir.

The official said that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba’s women’s wing in particular has been instructed to focus more on recruitment in Jammu and Kashmir. The ISI wants recruitments to take place on a very large scale. This would align with its plans of having a fresh set of over-ground workers (OWG) and foot soldiers.

With a large number of OWGs arrested and many being under the scanner of the police, the ISI felt the need for a complete reset, officials say.

On the other hand, the focus of the JuM is very limited when it comes to Kashmir. It has been focusing on radicalisation and recruitment, both offline and online. The Jaish-e-Mohammad is trying to rebuild the outfit with Pakistanis who they would eventually launch in Jammu and Kashmir, officials also point out. To further the recruitment drive, the women operatives use multiple tactics. It is never hardcore radicalisation like that done by members of the men’s wing. They build a narrative around false atrocities in Kashmir.

Another official said that the name of slain Hizbul Mujahideen Burhan Wani comes up a lot during the recruitments being undertaken by the members of the Taiyabbat. They project Burhan as a hero who was wronged by the Indian security agencies.

The official said that Burhan did have a massive following when he was alive. Kashmir witnessed unprecedented violence following his death. These women recruits are trying to drum up emotions of the past as a recruitment tool.

Officials say that the ISI is aware that raising a massive combat force is not too easy. The agency wants to focus more on reshaping the men’s wings and use the women-led outfits to focus more on radicalisation and, more importantly, recruitment, the official also pointed out.

–IANS

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