New Delhi: India has welcomed the designation by the United States of The Resistance Front (TRF), reposnsible for the Pahalgam terror attack, as a terrorist group.
EAM S Jaishankar's Tweet
Taking to X External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that the move was 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 Global Terrorist (SDGT). It claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam attack. Zero tolerance for Terrorism,” the minister said.
Terror Status Issued
The US Department of State had issued the terror status on Friday, and a statement issued on behalf of the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the action “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 State Department statement pointed out:” 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 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 US actions suggests that Washington is taking India’s terror concerns seriously. Washington has taken action against Pakistani terror groups in the past as well.
In December 2001 former US Secretary of State Colin Powell sanctioned both the “Lashkar-eTayyeba (LET) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) as Foreign Terrorist Organisations” in the aftermath of the attack of the Indian Parliament and the Srinagar Legislative Assembly. In his statement, Powell said that both these groups sought to “undermine peace and stability in South Asia” and that he looked forward “to working with the governments of India and Pakistan to shut these groups down.”
About The Terror Tag On TRF
Ministry of External Affairs sources say that the terror tag on the TRF has operational weight in that it will freeze the group’s assets, block US-linked transactions and make world support to the group a criminal offense. But more importantly it puts the pressure back on Pakistan and ensures that the group is seen as Pakistan-backed group rather than a Kashmiri resistance group. Senior diplomats echo the government’s claim that the US terror tag on the group, but they believe that little will change on the ground.
A Senor Diplomat's Statement
A senior diplomat who did not want to be named said. “The big advantage is it keeps international counter-terrorism focus on these groups and one characteristic of these groups is that they keep morphing and changing names and changing the leadership. In that context, the US designation is something which is certainly to our advantage. It doesn't mean that it means a huge change in terms of the actual situation on the ground but it keeps a certain international focus on the issue.” Another argument is India could also use the US designation to pressure the world to put Pakistan back on FATF grey list.
Pakistan had been removed from the Grey List in October 2022 as FATF president T Raja Kumar said it had addressed “technical deficiencies to meet the commitments of its action plans.” However, experts rule out this claim. Said the diplomat. “I think it’s far-fetched at this point. The US is not the only player it’s an important player but it’s not the only player. And the designation does not establish a direct linkage between Pakistan and the group. For that, we have to produce much more evidence. And that in itself is not an easy process. Even with the LeT, we were able to build up a climate of opinion only over a long period of time. It’s never an easy thing to do.”
The other problem for India is the lack of support in the neighbourhood and most specifically from China. Asked to comment on the US move, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that China condemned the April 22 attacks and called on “regional countries to enhance counterterrorism cooperation and jointly maintain regional security and stability.” There is no mention of Pakistan, the TRF and the LeT in the statement. China, moreover, is believed to have played a key role in ensuring that the TRF’s name did not appear in the official UNSC statement issued on April 25 condemning the Pahalgam attack.
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