US designates Pahalgam attack group terrorist organization; India welcomes move
What's the story
The United States has designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a faction of the Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a "foreign terrorist organization." In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the fact that the group had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people. As such, "the Department of State is adding The Resistance Front (TRF) as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT)," it said.
Designation details
Designation underscores commitment to countering terrorism: US
"This (Pahalgam attack) 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 statement read. "These actions taken by the Department of State demonstrate 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 statement added.
Ongoing threat
US reviews and maintains LeT's FTO designation
The US Department of State said it has also reviewed and maintained the FTO designation of LeT. The statement added that "TRF and other associated aliases have been added to LeT's designation as an FTO and SDGT pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224." The amendments to these designations will come into effect upon publication in the Federal Register.
EAM
Strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism operation: India
India, welcoming the decision, described the move as "a strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism operation." In a post on X, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wrote, "Appreciate @SecRubio and @StateDept for designating TRF-a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) proxy-as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Gloabl Terrorist (SDGT)." Before the move by the US, Jaishankar had stressed the need to take an uncompromising stand against terrorism while speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tianjin.
Global response
Jaishankar calls for uncompromising stand against terrorism
The minister highlighted three evils—terrorism, separatism and extremism—which often occur together. "The UN Security Council...issued a statement that condemned it in the strongest terms and 'underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.'" "We have since done exactly that and will continue doing so. It is imperative that the SCO, to remain true to its founding objectives, take an uncompromising position on this challenge," he said.