New Delhi, July 18: In a major diplomatic win for India, the United States has officially designated The Resistance Front (TRF)—the terror group behind the deadly Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians—as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The move was swiftly welcomed by India as a significant milestone in the growing counter-terrorism partnership between New Delhi and Washington.
The Indian Embassy in Washington issued a statement thanking the US Department of State, calling the listing “another demonstration of strong India-USA counter-terrorism cooperation.” The development, Indian officials say, reinforces international recognition of TRF as a proxy of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), which continues to operate from Pakistan under new aliases.
The listing comes in the backdrop of repeated joint commitments by India, the United States, and Quad partners to strengthen counter-terror efforts. In the India-US joint statement issued during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington, both sides had pledged to act against terror outfits including LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad, ISIS, and Al-Qa’ida, while calling on Pakistan to bring perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks to justice.
In a powerful message last month, the Quad Foreign Ministers—representing India, the US, Japan, and Australia—unanimously condemned the Pahalgam terror attack and called for the immediate prosecution of those involved. “Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism,” the statement said, adding that the perpetrators must be “brought to justice without any delay.”
The US move to sanction TRF is also likely to pave the way for similar action by other countries, further isolating the group and its handlers. The State Department categorically described TRF as a front for Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, which is already listed as a global terror group by the United Nations.
What raises eyebrows is Pakistan’s continued attempt to shield TRF on the international stage. In April, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar admitted in parliament that Islamabad had successfully opposed the mention of TRF in the UN Security Council’s condemnation of the Pahalgam attack. “TRF was deleted and Pakistan prevailed,” Dar had said—underscoring the country’s persistent pattern of protecting groups that target India.
With Pakistan currently serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and sitting on the 1267 sanctions committee, India’s concerns about obstructionism in global counter-terror efforts have only intensified.
The US designation of TRF marks a critical step in piercing the veil of such terror fronts and brings renewed international focus on dismantling the infrastructure of cross-border terrorism in the region.
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