New Delhi/Washington: The United States on Thursday officially designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy outfit of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in response to its involvement in the deadly April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which killed 26 civilians.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announcing the designation, said the attack marked the worst violence against Indian civilians since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He reaffirmed the Trump administration’s strong stand against terrorism and commitment to ensuring justice.
The US move also amended LeT’s existing terrorist designations to include TRF and its aliases. Rubio emphasized that this step aligns with Washington’s broader national security strategy and its zero-tolerance policy for terror.
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar welcomed the decision, calling it a “strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism cooperation.”
This comes despite the US earlier approving $397 million in aid to Pakistan for its F-16 fleet—a decision that had drawn criticism in India, especially in light of Islamabad’s continued patronage of terror groups.
Meanwhile, BRICS leaders, in a recent summit, strongly condemned the Pahalgam attack, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling it a “cowardly assault on the soul and dignity of India” and urging unified global action against terrorism.
The Pahalgam attack, carried out during peak tourist season, was described by Modi as a blow not just to India but to all humanity.
