Inclusion of TRF in report under 1267 Committee a boost for India's counter-terror campaign: officials
India has described the TRF as a front of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and accused it of carrying out the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians and injured dozens more on April 22. The Monitoring Team of the 1267 Sanctions Committee, which chronicles global terror groups for international punitive actions, published its report on July 24.
India had sent a technical team to the UN to convey its position on cross-border terrorism, after Operation Sindoor was conducted between May 7 to 10. The technical team had reached out to the members of the UNSC and briefed officials of the 1267 Sanctions Committee's Monitoring Team. Earlier, India's campaign found support from the United States, with the U.S. State Department including TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on July 17.
In its report, the Team noted that the TRF had taken responsibility for the attack in Pahalgam, saying, 'On 22 April, five terrorists attacked a tourist spot in Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir. Twenty-six civilians were killed. The attack was claimed that same day by The Resistance Front (TRF), who in parallel published a photograph of the attack site. The claim of responsibility was repeated the following day. On 26 April, however, TRF retracted their claim. There was no further communication from TRF, and no other group claimed responsibility.'
Following the publication of the Team's report, officials here noted that the mention of Pakistan-based TRF in a UN document has brought global spotlight to a group that India considers to be the latest addition to the list of Pakistan-based terror outfits like the LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed and others. Under Operation Sindoor, Indian armed forces struck locations inside Pakistan that were known to host terror-training facilities. The team further noted that there was high regional tension that could be exploited by terror groups. 'One Member State said the attack could not have happened without Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT, QDe.118) support, and that there was a relationship between LeT and TRF. Another Member State said that the attack was carried out by TRF, who was synonymous with LeT. One Member State rejected these views and said LeT was defunct,' the MT's report said, referring to divergent exchange between Indian and Pakistani officials on the TRF following the attack in Pahalgam, in which a Nepali citizen was among those killed.
India's international campaign on the role of the TRF in the Pahalgam attack has been part of its overall campaign that also included sending multi-party teams to various countries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. The TRF also featured in the speech by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who spoke on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha on July 29 and mentioned the U.S. action against the TRF.
'...I would particularly like to mention two or three other developments. One, the American designation of TRF. On the 17th of July, the Department of State designated the TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Now, this sir, comes in the wake of extradition of Tahawwur Rana, who was involved in the 26/11 attack,' said Mr. Jaishankar speaking in the Lok Sabha.
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