What is The Resistance Front, designated by the US as a ‘terrorist organization'?
The group initially took responsibility for the attack in Pahalgam before denying it days later. Following are some facts about the 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 extremist 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.
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
8 hours ago
- Arab News
Islamabad, Kabul vow closer cooperation to tackle militancy, improve border management — FO
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan have reaffirmed their commitment to countering militancy and improving border management, the Pakistani interior ministry said on Sunday, following a meeting between the two interior ministers in Kabul. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Kabul on Sunday for a day-long visit to hold talks with Sirajuddin Haqqani, his counterpart in the Afghan interim government, days after top Pakistani officials visited Kabul to sign a framework agreement for a joint feasibility study on the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project. Naqvi's visit also followed the inaugural additional secretary-level talks between both sides in Islamabad to discuss trade, visas, security, connectivity and refugee issues as well as a meeting of the Pakistani, Afghan and Chinese foreign ministers in Beijing, which resulted in the upgradation of Pakistan-Afghanistan diplomatic relations to the ambassador's rank. During their meeting, the Pakistani and Afghan interior ministers discussed bilateral relations and matters relating to the Pakistani Taliban and counter-terrorism, border management, narcotics control and the process of repatriation of Afghan citizens illegally residing in Pakistan, according to the Pakistani interior ministry. 'Both interior ministers emphasized the need for peaceful coexistence, stability, and cooperation,' the Pakistani ministry said in a statement. 'They agreed to strengthen mutual cooperation to eliminate the scourge of terrorism and Pak-Afghan border management.' The TTP, which mainly operates in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan, has stepped up its attacks against Pakistani security forces and law enforcers in recent months. Islamabad has often said the group has sanctuaries in Afghanistan, an allegation denied by Kabul. Naqvi said militant groups were causing chaos and instability in the region, and that Pakistan wishes brotherly and lasting relations with Afghanistan, according to the statement. 'We have to stop it [militancy] together,' he was quoted as saying. 'Pakistan has selflessly hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades, and its doors are open for the legal entry of Afghan citizens.' 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. Analysts link the recent high-level engagements between Pakistan and Afghanistan to a growing effort toward regional peace, suggesting that the process should continue to address militancy, refugee resettlement, and broader bilateral cooperation. 'These continued high-level engagements are crucial for promoting peace in our surrounding, but they should not be one-off efforts, instead, a sustained and continuous process of engagement is needed,' former Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Dr. Nafees Zakaria told Arab News. 'Constructive engagement with Afghanistan is important to help stabilize the [security] situation, which is ultimately in Pakistan's interest,' he said, adding that it was essential for Kabul to not provide space to 'inferior elements' for bilateral relations to have a stable trajectory. Zakaria said both countries needed to consider all other aspects of their relationship, including cultural cooperation and refugee issues. 'They (Afghan refugees) are now returning to their country... their proper resettlement is crucial, otherwise, it could become a humanitarian catastrophe,' he said. Qamar Cheema, executive director of the Sanober Institute think tank that focuses on South Asia issues, said these continued engagements were essential to fill 'gaps' in bilateral relations between the two countries. 'Pakistan wants the Afghan Taliban to hold the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan accountable and for this matter, multiple means are being used, including the multilateral and or trilateral forum like Pakistan, Afghanistan and China,' he told Arab News. 'Pakistan is seeking further assurances and aims to persuade the Afghan Taliban to continue summoning the TTP leadership and issuing clear political statements in order to prevent the TTP from launching attacks or crossing the border into Pakistan.' Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based analyst, said the visit follows a trilateral push for a trans-regional rail link that offers major benefits for war-torn Afghanistan. 'Sino-Pakistan offer to include Afghanistan in the multi-billion-dollar worth of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) reflects Islamabad's intent to offer lucrative geo-economic incentives to the Kabul administration,' he said. 'These incentives aim to encourage recognition of Pakistan's security concerns regarding terrorist organizations operating from Afghan soil and to reduce their space and capacity.'
Arab News
14 hours 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.'
Al Arabiya
15 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Two suspected militants belonging to Hasm movement killed by Egyptian forces in shootout
Egyptian police said they killed two suspected militants in a shootout Sunday during a raid on their hideout in Cairo's twin city of Giza. The Interior Ministry said the suspected militants belonged to the Hasm movement, which is affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Hasm is designed as a terrorist group by the United States. A bystander also was killed and an officer wounded in the exchange of fire between the militants and security forces in Giza's densely populated neighborhood of Bolaq el-Dakrour, the ministry said in a statement. According to the ministry, the militants were planning to carry out attacks in Egypt. Security forces in recent years have crushed an extremist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, which at times spilled over into other parts of the country. With The Associated Press
