Our Bureau
New Delhi
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday welcomed the United States’ decision to designate as a “Foreign Terrorist Organisation,” The Resistance Front (TRF) which is a proxy of Pakistan’s Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT) terror group and that has claimed responsiblity for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Jaishankar termed the move by the US Department of State as a “strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism cooperation.”
“Appreciate SecRubio and @StateDept for designating TRF, a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) proxy, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). It claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam attack. Zero tolerance for terrorism,” Jaishankar posted on his social media platform X.
In a statement issued by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio it was acknowledged that TRF, which is a known proxy of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, under US anti-terrorism laws had claimed responsibility for the Pahalagam terror attack.
The April 22 attack in the tourist spot in Jammu and Kashmir had claimed the lives of 26 civilians and triggered the four-day military escalation between India and Pakistan. In light of this, the US accorded the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
The United States noted this was the deadliest civilian attack in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, also carried out by LeT.
The US State Department further stated that TRF has also been involved in multiple attacks on Indian security forces in recent years, including in 2024.
Founded in 2019, shortly after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir (J-K), TRF is a part of broader Pakistan’s ISI-backed disinformation and hybrid warfare and targets civilians, minorities, tourists and security forces, according to sources.
Sources said that the outfit employs ex-SSG commandos (Hashim Musa) of the Pakistan Army as part of its tactics to launch terror attacks.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a Pakistan-backed militant Proxy in Kashmir, focuses on terror attacks, recruitment and propaganda, they said.
Its key leadership, including founder Muhammad Abbas Sheikh and Basit Ahmed Dar, Operational Chief, is dead. Its Supreme Commander, Sheikh Sajjad Gul, is reportedly active, sources added.
There are also reports that the headquarters of the TRF may be shifting from Muridke to Bahawalpur in Pakistan.
