“Delhi Red Fort Blast: Sadiya Azhar Tied to Women Wing of Pakistani Terror Outfit”

Sadiya Azhar, Jaish-e-Mohammed Women Wing Linked to Delhi Red Fort Blast

New Delhi: Police have identified links between the deadly car bomb near Delhi’s Red Fort — which killed nine people using ammonium nitrate fuel oil in a Hyundai i20 — and Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the same outfit behind the 2019 Pulwama attack.

Founded by internationally designated terrorist Masood Azhar, JeM has been repeatedly targeted by Indian military operations, including airstrikes on Balakot after Pulwama and a missile strike on its Bahawalpur headquarters following the April 2025 Pahalgam attack. Ten members of Azhar’s family, including his brother-in-law Yusuf Azhar (husband of Sadiya Azhar), were killed in Bahawalpur.

As part of JeM’s rebuilding, it launched a women’s wing, Jamat ul-Muminat, with Sadiya Azhar in charge. She and her sister Samaira reportedly conduct online sessions to indoctrinate and recruit women, focusing on wives of JeM operatives and women from economically vulnerable areas near the group’s training camps.

Investigations have revealed two direct links to the Red Fort blast: the terror module behind the attack and Shaheena Shahid, in whose car an assault rifle and ammunition were found. Shahid, a medical professional, and her accomplice Dr. Mujammil Shakeel of Faridabad, along with Dr. Adil Ahmed Rather from Saharanpur, UP, were arrested as part of an inter-state anti-terror crackdown. Authorities seized nearly 3,000 kg of explosives, including ammonium nitrate.

The blast was reportedly triggered by Dr. Umar Mohammed, a member of the JeM module, after the arrests of Shakeel and Rather. The involvement of medical professionals highlights a new and alarming operational strategy for the group.