In a first, The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba that had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, has found mention in a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) report monitoring sanctions on terror outfits. According to the report of the Monitoring Team (MT) of the UNSC 1267 [ISIS (Da’esh) & Al-Qaida] Sanctions Committee, the entry under the Asia section reads: “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. Regional relations remain fragile. There is a risk that terrorist groups may exploit these regional tensions. One member state said the attack could not have happened without Lashkar-e-Tayyiba support, and that there was a relationship between LeT and TRF,” it said. “Another member state said the attack was carried out by TRF, who was synonymous with LeT. One member state rejected these views and said LeT was defunct,” it said. Sources pointed out that the paragraph on TRF and the Pahalgam terror attack is the first and largest part under the South Asia section. “It is in sync with what we have been stating on the links between the TRF and the LeT and its support from Pakistan,” a source said. This is the first time that the TRF has been mentioned in any UN document, sources said. In the past, India’s consistent efforts for naming the TRF in the UNSC statements were stymied by Pakistan. The development is significant as all decisions of the 1267 Sanctions Committee, including MT reports, are adopted by consensus by members of the UNSC. Pakistan is a non-permanent member of the UNSC. After Operation Sindoor, which followed the Pahalgam attack, India had reached out to most of the UNSC member countries - permanent and non-permanent members – with multi-party political delegations visiting these countries in May-June. Earlier, speaking in the Pakistan National Assembly, its Foreign Minister had talked about forcing the removal of references to the TRF in the UNSC press statement condemning the Pahalgam attack. “Pakistan’s strategy of plausible deniability - using secular and modern names like 'The Resistance Front' and 'People Against Fascist Front' for its jihadi proxies to divert attention from LeT/ JeM and give an indigenous appearance to its terrorist activities in Jammu & Kashmir - now stands punctured,” said sources. “The mention of the TRF in the MT Report is how the world views Pakistan’s lies and deceitful narrative,” sources said. This also marks the first mention of LeT/ Pakistan-based terror group in the report since 2019, said sources. According to sources, the inclusion of TRF in the MT report despite Pakistan’s efforts highlights Islamabad's undeniable involvement in fomenting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. “It also attests to our credibility in the UN on the counter-terror front,” the source said. On July 18, the US State Department had designated TRF as a 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 US State Department had said. “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,” it said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said Washington's move was a “strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism cooperation”. Designating an organisation as an FTO makes financing, aiding, advising and helping such an organisation a crime under US law.
