KOZHIKODE: Ayesha, alias Sonia Sebastian, a member of the Islamic State group that left Kerala to join the IS in Afghanistan in 2016, said the situation at the IS stronghold was contrary to her expectations.

In a video released by media group StratNews Global, Ayesha said her husband, Abdul Rashid Abdulla, was also disappointed with the ISIS towards the end of his life. Ayesha is currently lodged in a jail in Kabul, along with other women, including two Malayalis, after they surrendered a few months ago. “I assume many people who want to come (to the IS) have the same expectations. I would suggest to them to think twice before taking a decision,” she said. Ayesha said she doesn’t want to associate with the IS anymore.

“The reason we moved in (to Afghanistan) was to lead an Islamic life under the ‘caliphate’. But when we reached here, we realised that people were not even going to the masjid for prayers,” she said. Ayesha added that her husband, Rashid, was very disappointed to see these things. He stopped making and sending audios as he was thoroughly disenchanted, she said. (Rashid had sent more than 90 short audio clips detailing various aspects of IS to a Malayali audience.)

“He didn’t talk about coming back to India but he was completely demotivated. His last words were, ‘I am done with this world’,” Ayesha said, adding that she wants to return to Kerala and live with Rashid’s parents.

Fathima, alias Nimisha, another woman in the group, said in the video that she too wants to return to India provided she is not imprisoned and tortured. “I can’t say that I want to live in Afghanistan as this is not my place. India is place,” she said. Fathima said she wanted to live in a place that is governed by Sharia. “I cannot say that the ‘caliphate’ was wrong because I was comfortable at that time, but things have changed,” she said.