In a major diplomatic move, the United States has officially designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a Pakistan-backed proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). This comes in the wake of the deadly April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 civilians lost their lives.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the decision through a statement issued by the Department of State, asserting that the designation underscores America’s commitment to counterterrorism and enforces former President Donald Trump’s call for justice for the victims of the Pahalgam attack.
Initially, TRF had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam massacre, only to later retract the statement amid mounting diplomatic pressure between India and Pakistan. The group has also been involved in multiple assaults on Indian security forces, including incidents reported as recently as 2024.
Rubio stated that TRF and its associated aliases are now included under LeT’s FTO and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) listings, as per Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224. The US also reaffirmed its existing FTO designation of LeT.
Calling the Pahalgam incident the most lethal attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai terror strikes, Rubio emphasized that the US remains committed to defending national and global security interests.
Following the attack, India launched “Operation Sindoor” on May 7, targeting nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. In the weeks that followed, India dispatched seven multi-party delegations to 33 international capitals, including Washington, to present evidence of Pakistan’s continued complicity in global terrorism.
