Latest news with #ForeignTerrorist
Deccan Herald
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
TRF deserves designation as foreign terrorist organisation: US House Foreign Affairs Committee
Last week, the US designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
India.com
18-07-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Pahalgam's villain TRF added to US terror list, Pakistan isolated at global level; what is the role played by Jaishankar and Tharoor?
New Delhi: Almost 3 months after the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam, terrorist organization The Resistance Front (TRF) has been put in the list of global terrorist organizations by the US. In this attack on 22 April 2025, the terrorists of The Resistance Front massacred 27 people. TRF is the new avatar of Pakistan's notorious terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. This organization had taken responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. What did Jaishankar and Tharoor do? Now the US Department of Home Affairs has included TRF in the list of Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). This move of America is a diplomatic victory for India. In this, the role of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who went to America on an outreach mission on behalf of India, was important. It is worth noting that after the Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor and carried out fierce targeted counterattacks on Pakistan. After this, Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir did a lot of lobbying in Pakistan. He kept distancing Pakistan from this attack and kept talking about an independent and impartial investigation. How did India turn things in its favour? India's diplomacy forced America to accept that TRF is a terrorist organization. After the Pahalgam attack, India adopted a strategy to isolate Pakistan on the global platform. For this, India sent its delegations to West Asia, America, Russia and Europe and exposed Pakistan's misdeeds. After the Pahalgam attack, India took this issue to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Here India provided evidence of TRF's involvement in the Pahalgam attack, documents related to TRF's leaders, funding source and network. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar accused Pakistan of making terrorism a part of state policy and appealed to the international community to take it seriously. The result of his diplomacy was that many member countries of the United Nations supported the demand for giving severe punishment to the culprits of the Pahalgam attack. The Foreign Minister made it clear that India-Pakistan tension is not only a bilateral issue, but a question of global security. He held bilateral talks with the US Secretary of State and the US State Department and strongly put forward India's case for listing TRF as a terrorist organization. What was Shashi Tharoor's role in the US? Shashi Tharoor drew the attention of America and the international community towards the threat of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and the activities of TRF. Tharoor especially targeted the China-Pakistan alliance in America. Tharoor said that China had tried to remove the name of TRF, which was involved in the Pahalgam attack, from the United Nations resolution. He raised the same issue in Brazil and said that China is constantly protecting Pakistani terrorists. He reminded America about Osama bin Laden hiding in Pakistan so that the US administration and Trump could also be made aware of Pakistan's double policy. His effective lobbying inspired American policymakers to support India's anti-terrorism stance. Getting the TRF in the US terrorist list was a diplomatic victory for India in which Jaishankar's firm strategy and Tharoor's effective advocacy on international fora played an important role. This move proved helpful in isolating Pakistan at the global level.
NDTV
18-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Appreciate US' Efforts: India On Move Against Group Behind Pahalgam Attack
India on Friday welcomed the US's move to designate The Resistance Front (TRF), the group behind the Pahalgam terror attack, as a terrorist organisation and described the move as "a strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism operation". In a post on X, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said: "A strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism cooperation. Appreciate @SecRubio and @StateDept for designating TRF-a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) proxy-as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Gloabl Terrorist (SDGT). It claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam attack. Zero tolerance for Terrorism. #OpSindoor." The TRF is a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, and had claimed responsibility for the April 22 terror attack that killed 25 tourists - 24 Indians and one Nepali citizen.
India.com
18-07-2025
- Politics
- India.com
US Exposes Pakistan's Hand: Lashkar Proxy TRF Named Global Terrorist After Pahalgam Attack
The US has designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy outfit of the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the group behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 innocent civilians were killed, as a terrorist organisation. In a statement on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US has designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). "Today, the Department of State is adding The Resistance Front (TRF) as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). TRF, a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) front and proxy, claimed responsibility for the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam attack which killed 26 civilians. This 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 statement read. The statement said that this action demonstrated the US President Donald Trump administration's commitment of countering terrorism. "These actions taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump Administration's commitment to protecting our national security interests, countering terrorism, and enforcing President Trump's call for justice for the Pahalgam attack," the statement said. "TRF and other associated aliases have been added to LeT's designation as a FTO and SDGT pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224, respectively. The Department of State has also reviewed and maintained the FTO designation of LeT. Amendments to FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register," the statement added. Earlier on Tuesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stressed the importance of taking an uncompromising stance against terrorism, citing the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack in India, which was condemned by the UN Security Council. The Minister was speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tianjin. He highlighted three evils - terrorism, separatism and extremism, which often occur together in his X post. Jaishankar said, "Recently, we in India witnessed a graphic example in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025. It was deliberately conducted to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir, while sowing a religious divide. The UN Security Council, of which some of us are currently members, issued a statement that condemned it in the strongest terms and "underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice". We have since done exactly that and will continue doing so. It is imperative that the SCO, to remain true to its founding objectives, take an uncompromising position on this challenge." On April 22, Pakistan-backed terrorists attacked tourists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, killing 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen while leaving several others injured. On May 7, the Indian Army struck nine terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir under 'Operation Sindoor', killing over 100 dreaded terrorists and avenging the loss of lives in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Rudaw Net
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
US delists Syria's HTS as 'terrorist' group, maintains Nusra Front alias label
Also in World US revokes 'terrorist' designation for Syria's HTS Kumzari-Kurdish connection sparks speculation of shared heritage Kurdistan should do more for special needs students, says wheelchair-bound grad UN nuclear watchdog inspectors leave Iran A+ A- WASHINGTON DC - The US revoked the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation for Syria's Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on Tuesday, but the group 'remains identified as an alias of Al-Nusrah Front,' which is still listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), a State Department spokesperson told Rudaw. The revocation of the FTO designation for HTS is 'effective July 8,' the spokesperson confirmed, adding that the State Department is currently "reviewing our remaining terrorist designations related to HTS and Syria, in accordance with the President [Donald Trump's] promise to deliver sanctions relief to Syria.' In a memo dated June 23 and published on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, 'In consultation with the Attorney General and Secretary of the Treasury, I hereby revoke the designation of Al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (and other aliases) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.' Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of State may revoke an FTO designation at any time, particularly if circumstances have changed or if the revocation supports US national security interests. Nusra Front, also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, was formed in 2012 as al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria and in 2016, it rebranded as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS) and claimed to break from al-Qaeda, though ties were suspected to have continued. In 2017, JFS merged with other groups to form HTS. The US designated Nusra Front an FTO in December 2012 due to its links to al-Qaeda in Iraq and its activities in Syria. The designation, later updated to include JFS and HTS. Following a rapid offensive in early December, a coalition of opposition forces led by the now-dissolved HTS - then headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa - toppled the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa was in late January named Syria's interim president and has since upped efforts to normalize diplomatic relations with the international community, long severed under Assad's rule. US Secretary of State Rubio's revocation of Nusra Front and HTS's designation as an FTO notably came a week after the US President terminated Washington's comprehensive sanctions program on Syria. Trump had announced the move in mid-May as part of a broader strategy to normalize ties with the new Syrian leadership and 'to give them a chance at greatness,' he said during a speech in Riyadh. The State Department spokesperson told Rudaw on Tuesday that the revocation of HTS's designation as an FTO aligns with Trump's May announcement, which 'signified a turning point for Syria's reintegration into the global community and economy.' The decision, the spokesperson continued, marks 'an additional step towards fulfilling the President's vision of delivering sanctions relief for the Syrian people,' which is 'a critical element of a new relationship between Syria and the United States. 'The President is providing the Syrian government with the chance to promote peace and stability,' the spokesperson added. 'This is about opening up incredible opportunities around the region for peace and security.' Since the fall of Assad in December, the US has taken several steps to ease sanctions on Syria. In January, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 24, authorizing specific humanitarian and essential service transactions. This was followed in late May by General License 25, which broadly authorized transactions across all sectors of Syria's economy - including investment, financial services, and petroleum trade - as well as re-engagement with the Commercial Bank of Syria. Also in May, the State Department issued a 180-day waiver under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, removing a key legal obstacle to reconstruction and economic engagement. However, targeted sanctions against individuals linked to the Assad regime, terrorism, and human rights abuses remain in effect.
