US designates TRF a terrorist group: All about the ‘LeT proxy' behind India's deadliest terror attack on civilians

Mint

13 hours ago

The US on July 17 designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), citing its role in the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists in Kashmir on April 22.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who announced the designation, described TRF as a 'front and proxy' of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is already listed as a terrorist group by both the United Nations and the United States.
Rubio said that this action against the TRF "demonstrates President Donald Trump administration's commitment to protecting our national security interests, countering terrorism, and enforcing President Trump's call for justice for the Pahalgam attack".
"This (Pahalgam attack) was the deadliest attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks conducted by LeT. TRF has also claimed responsibility for several attacks against Indian security forces, including most recently in 2024," the secretary of state said.
The attack in Pahalgam – a popular tourist destination in South Kashmir's Anantnag district – was carried out on a day when US Vice President JD Vance was in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a state visit to Saudi Arabia.
'More than 85,000 domiciles have been issued to non-locals, creating a pathway for demographic change in Jammu and Kashmir. These non-locals arrive posing as tourists, obtain domiciles, and then begin to act as if they own the land," the TRF said in a statement claiming responsibility for the attack on social media.
Mint could not verify the statement's credibility. "Consequently, violence will be directed toward those attempting to settle illegally," it said after the attack that sent shockwaves across the country, and beyond.
A few days later, another TRF statement available online disowned the earlier statement claiming responsibility for the attack, one of the deadliest in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
TRF emerged after Article 370 of Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated in August 2019. The TRF is a known proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and was formed to provide a localised face to the militancy in Kashmir.
Founded in October 2019, the group was led by Sheikh Sajjad Gul as the Supreme Commander, with Basit Ahmed Dar serving as the Chief Operational Commander.
Born on October 10, 1974 in Srinagar, Gul was designated as terrorist by the government in 2022. Of 172 terrorists that were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, 108 were linked to TRF, according to a 2022 data.
TRF was initially formed with cadres from Hizbul Mujahideen and LeT, according to reports. The Union government has been calling TRF as a 'proxy' front for the LeT.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) banned the TRF and all its manifestations and front organisations in January 2023. The Ministry has declared them as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.
The MHA said that "the activities of TRF are detrimental for the national security and sovereignty of India" and that it was 'involved in psychological operations on social media platforms for inciting people of Jammu and Kashmir to join terrorist outfits against Indian state'.
The TRF, is recruiting youth through online medium for furtherance of terrorist activities and has been involved in carrying out propaganda on terror activities, recruitment of terrorists, infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir, the MHA notification said.
Before its role in the Pahalgam attack, the TRF had a role in the majority of attacks on civilians, including Kashmiri Pandits and migrant workers, as well as security forces in Kashmir, for many years.
The TRF also claimed responsibility for the attack at a construction site in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district, which killed a doctor and six migrant workers in October 2024.
TRF chief Gul is said to be the mastermind of the attack. The group's local module, carried out the attack targeting Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris together, according to a TRF statement after the Ganderbal attack in 2024 said.
The activities of TRF are detrimental for the national security and sovereignty of India.
Another major attack involving TRF was April 1, 2020 when the group engaged in a four-day gun battle near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Keran sector of Kupwara. Five Indian para commandos were killed along with the terrorists.