What is The Resistance Front, designated by US as ‘terrorist' group?
WHAT IS TRF?
TRF emerged in 2019 and is considered an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a Delhi-based think tank.
Indian security officials said TRF uses the name Kashmir Resistance on social media and online forums, where it claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack in Indian Kashmir's Pahalgam area.
Lashkar-e-Taiba, listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, is the Islamist group accused of plotting attacks in India and in the West, including the three-day assault on Mumbai in November 2008.
'This is basically a front of the LeT. These are groups which have been created over the last years, particularly when Pakistan was under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force and they were trying to create a pattern of denial that they were involved in terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir,' said Ajai Sahni, head of the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
HOW HAS THE PROBE ADVANCED?
On June 22, India's anti-terror National Investigation Agency said it had arrested two men who harbored three militants involved in the Pahalgam attack.
The agency said in a statement that the arrested men had revealed the identities of the attackers, and confirmed they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the
Lashkar-e-Taiba. Islamabad denies any involvement.
WHAT HAS THE GROUP DONE?
The group has not previously had any large incidents attributed to it, according to Sahni.
'All TRF operations are essentially LeT operations. There will be some measure of operational freedom as to where they hit on the ground, but the sanction would have come from the LeT,' Sahni said.
WHAT DOES INDIA SAY ABOUT TRF?
India's interior ministry told parliament in 2023 that the group had been involved in the planning of killings of security force personnel and civilians in Jammu and Kashmir.
The group also coordinated the recruitment of militants and the smuggling of weapons and narcotics across the border, the ministry said.
Intelligence officials told Reuters that TRF had also been issuing online threats against pro-India groups for the past two years.
WHAT DOES PAKISTAN SAY?
Pakistan has denied that it supports and funds militants in Kashmir, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
25 minutes ago
- Arab News
Pakistani interior minister in Kabul on day-long visit amid thaw in ties
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday arrived in Kabul to meet his Afghan counterpart on a day-long visit, the Pakistani interior ministry said, amid a thaw in relations between the two neighbors. The visit comes more than a week after Pakistani and Afghan officials held an inaugural round of the additional secretary-level talks in Islamabad to discuss trade, visas, security, connectivity and refugee issues. It followed a meeting of the Pakistani, Afghan and Chinese foreign ministers in Beijing and the upgradation of Pakistan-Afghanistan diplomatic relations to the ambassador's rank. Pakistan and Afghanistan have had rocky relations mainly due to a spike in militancy in Pakistan's western regions that border Afghanistan, following the Taliban's takeover of Kabul in 2021. Islamabad says anti-Pakistan militants carry out cross-border attacks using safe havens in Afghanistan, a charge Kabul denies. Another source of tension has been Pakistan's drive to expel Afghans, which first began in Nov. 2023. Upon arrival at the Kabul airport, Interior Minister Naqvi was received by Afghan Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Nabi Omari and other senior officials, the Pakistani interior ministry said. 'Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi will meet his Afghan counterpart Sirajuddin Haqqani,' it said, without elaborating on the agenda of the meeting. 'Interior Secretary Khurram Agha and senior officials are accompanying him.' This month's additional secretary-level talks in Islamabad came in follow up of the decisions reached during the visit of Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to Kabul in April, according to the Pakistani foreign office. 'Both sides recognized terrorism as a serious threat to regional peace and security. The Pakistani side emphasized the need for concrete actions against terrorist groups operating on Afghan soil, noting that such groups undermine Pakistan's security and hinder regional development,' the Pakistani foreign ministry said. 'The two sides exchanged views on deepening trade and transit cooperation. They reviewed the implementation status of measures announced during the visit of Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of Pakistan to Kabul for facilitating Afghan transit trade, including the removal of a 10 percent processing fee, provision of an insurance guarantee, reduction in scanning and examination, and operationalization of the track and trace system.' The Pakistani side was led by Additional Secretary for Afghanistan and West Asia, Ambassador Syed Ali Asad Gillani, while the Afghan side was led by Director-General of the First Political Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor. They underlined the importance of enhanced regional connectivity as a catalyst for sustainable growth and shared prosperity. Afghanistan's foreign ministry said the two sides stressed the need to resolve the 'issues of Afghan prisoners and refugees in Pakistan and facilitate the provision of visas to Afghan patients and businessmen.' Pakistan this year said it wanted 3 million Afghans to leave the country, including 1.4 million people with Proof of Registration cards and some 800,000 with Afghan Citizen Cards. There are a further 1 million Afghans in the country illegally because they have no paperwork, according to officials. 'Pakistan side shared an overview of its efforts to facilitate documented travel from Afghanistan, notably through the issuance of over 500,000 visas since January 2024 to date across a range of categories such as medical, tourist, business, and study. Both sides agreed to work together to further strengthen the legal movement of individuals across borders,' Islamabad's foreign ministry said. Both sides assured of continued mutual communication and cooperation to address current challenges and described security as important for regional development and further strengthening bilateral relations, according to the two foreign ministries.
Arab News
31 minutes ago
- Arab News
Pakistani forces kill 13 ‘Indian-sponsored militants' in separate engagements — military
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed 13 'Indian-sponsored militants' in separate engagements in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and southwestern Balochistan provinces, the Pakistani military said on Sunday. Security forces conducted a joint intelligence-based operation along with police, paramilitary Levies and district administration in KP's Malakand district from July 16 till July 20, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing. During the operation, Pakistani security personnel skillfully surrounded and engaged the militant location and after intense fire exchanges, nine Indian-sponsored militants were killed and eight others apprehended. 'Two hideouts used by khwarij [militants] were also busted and a large quantity of weapons ammunition and explosives was recovered,' the ISPR said in a statement. 'Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji found in the area.' In a separate operation in Balochistan, Pakistani security forces four Indian-sponsored militants in the Kalat district, according to the ISPR. 'Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,' it said. Meanwhile, seven police personnel from two police stations were reportedly abducted in two separate incidents in KP's South Waziristan district, local media reported, citing police. A search was ongoing for the missing law enforcers. Pakistan is currently battling twin insurgencies: one led my religiously motivated groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), mainly in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the other by ethno-nationalist Baloch separatist groups in Balochistan. Islamabad accuses India of backing the separatists in Balochistan as well as religiously motivated militant groups, like the Pakistani Taliban, in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. India denies the allegations. In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for successful operations against militants in Kalat and Malakand. 'This successful operation against terrorists is a perfect example of harmony between different institutions,' he said. 'The entire nation stands with the security forces in the fight against terrorism.'
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Modi to visit London this week as India-UK trade pact nears signing
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the UK this week, the Indian government said on Sunday, as the countries prepare to formally sign a long-pending bilateral free trade agreement. Modi's two-day trip on the invitation of his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, will start on Wednesday. 'During the visit, the two sides will also review the progress of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) with a specific focus on trade and economy, technology and innovation, defence and security, climate, health, education and people-to-people ties,' the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday. Launched in January 2022, the FTA negotiations between India and the UK were set to conclude the same year, but despite more than a dozen formal rounds, talks have stalled over issues like tariffs, rules of origin and mobility for services professionals. A deal-in-principle was announced by Modi and Starmer in May, and India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal was in London last month, with his office saying the visit aimed at charting out a 'clear, time-bound road map for its finalization and implementation.' At the same time, India is in ongoing talks with the US, which is seeking broader access to several key sectors, including agriculture, automobiles, steel, and aluminum — a concession New Delhi resists. Without a deal, Indian exports could face a 26–27 percent 'reciprocal' tariff imposed by President Donald Trump's administration starting Aug. 1. The FTA with the UK could offer India more predictability in economic matters, according to Prof. Harsh V. Pant, vice president of the Observer Research Foundation. 'This is going to be an important marker in the India-UK relationship, and India signaling to the world, particularly in the age of Trump — where there is so much unpredictability and volatility — that any kind of predictability that comes in with other partners is a benefit for every side,' he told Arab News. 'In this case, the UK and India would be hoping that this gives them greater predictability in their economic partnership, thereby reducing some of the challenges that continue to emanate from Washington.' The pact would also signal to other partners that India is willing to engage on economic matters. India is also in talks with the EU to conclude a comprehensive FTA by the end of 2025. 'This is a very important signal to other interlocutors, including the EU and US, that India will be willing to engage creatively on concluding these FTAs,' Pant said. 'This FTA is also crucial for a post-Brexit UK that is trying to retain its economic relevance around the world.'
