Centre declares TRF terrorist organisation

Officials said TRF is a new name given by Pakistan to LeT. “Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammad had religious connotations and Pakistan did not want that. They wanted to make Kashmir militancy appear indigenous. Hence, they opted for ‘Resistance’ — that has some currency in global politics — in its name,” an official said.

According to the MHA notification, Sheikh Sajjad Gul, a TRF commander, has been designated as a terrorist under the Fourth Schedule of the UAPA.

“The activities of the TRF are detrimental for the security and sovereignty of India. A large number of cases have been registered against the members/associates of the TRF relating to planning of killing of security personnel and civilians of J&K, co-coordinating and transporting weapons to support proscribed terrorist organisations…,” the MHA said.

The group had issued threats to a few media houses in the Valley for their “traitorous acts” following which several journalists had resigned from local publications.

TRF began as a social media operation run from Karachi, J&K DGP Dilbag Singh had told The Indian Express in 2020. Eventually, when they gained a sizeable presence online, the virtual entity was transformed into a physical entity.

They first sent weapons through Keran and outfits such as Tehreek-e-Millat Islamia and Ghaznavi Hind were being run under the TRF umbrella. As it began taking responsibility for attacks in 2020, police said the outfit was a front of LeT, working with other militant outfits and that TRF is new only in its name.

The first signs of TRF emerging as a strong militant group were visible when the J&K Police busted a module of overground workers in Sopore – the town was a strong Lashkar base in the Valley before it yielded its position to Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad – and Kupwara. The police recovered a cache of arms and ammunition near the LoC at Keran. The arrested OGWs said they were “recruiting youth for the new outfit”.

In its annual data, police said the maximum number of militants killed in the Valley in 2022 belonged to the TRF. Additionally, of the 100 individuals that joined militant ranks this year, 74 joined the Lashkar or the TRF.