US declares The Resistance Front a foreign terrorist group after Pahalgam attack
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The United States has officially designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a "foreign terrorist organisation" in response to a brutal attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir that left 26 civilians dead earlier this year.
The assault, which took place in April in the scenic town of Pahalgam, initially saw TRF claim responsibility, though the group later retracted its statement.
According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, TRF is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a banned Pakistan-based militant group that has previously targeted Indian forces and civilians.
“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 State Department said in a statement issued on Thursday.
Rubio emphasised the attack’s scale and historical significance, calling it “the deadliest attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks conducted by LeT.” That 2008 assault, which also involved LeT operatives, killed over 160 people and remains one of the worst terrorist attacks in South Asia’s recent history.
Following the Pahalgam killings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government swiftly pointed fingers at Pakistan, accusing it of harboring and backing militant groups that orchestrate cross-border violence. Pakistan has long denied these allegations, though it is widely believed to have supported certain groups as part of its strategic posture towards India.
The attack heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, leading to a period of military escalation. A ceasefire was eventually reached, with US President Donald Trump later claiming that his administration played a key role in facilitating the truce — a claim India has publicly rejected.
New Delhi is facing ongoing criticism for its security clampdown and human rights record in the Muslim-majority region. Meanwhile, Hindu nationalist factions within India continue to push for tighter control over the disputed territory.
