New Delhi: Notwithstanding its denial after claiming responsibility for the Pahalgam attack and Pakistan’s push to disassociate from the outfit, the US has designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
“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,” the US State Department said in a statement Friday, announcing the designation of the group as a terrorist organisation.
“TRF has also claimed responsibility for several attacks against Indian security forces, including most recently in 2024,” it added.
The statement said 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 TRF had immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in which 25 tourists and one local were killed in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pahalgam, but backtracked days later and blamed its earlier claim on hacking by Indian intelligence agencies. The denial came hours after Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif in a media interview denied the existence of the TRF and said the LeT was extinct.
The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement Friday welcomed the US move against the TRF.
“The designation of TRF (as foreign terrorist organisation) is a timely and important step reflecting the deep cooperation between India and the United States on counter-terrorism,” it said, stating that the “leadership of Secretary of State Mr Marco Rubio in this regard” was appreciated.
The TRF was formed in 2019 by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) when the nation was under increased scrutiny of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Pakistan had then come under pressure to be seen taking action against terror groups and had carried out a public crackdown on various terror groups, largely on the financial front.
Sources in the security establishment said that to distance itself from the terror activities in Jammu & Kashmir, the ISI decided to give new non-Islamic operational names to two terror groups, and to project them as indigenous entities fighting the Modi government in Kashmir.
And hence, the TRF was formed as a front for the LeT and the People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) as a front for the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
As reported by ThePrint, while the TRF is just a frontal organisation of the LeT and the overall head remains globally designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed, on ground, the TRF is headed by Sajid Gul.
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A look at leadership
Sajid Gul hails from Srinagar and went to Pakistan on an Indian passport and joined the LeT. Gul, who at times identifies himself as Saifullah Khalid, is believed to be staying in the Burma Town of Islamabad and his son is studying in the Army School, Rawalpindi.
Umar Sofian is in charge of the Jammu region while Abu Anas is in charge of Kashmir. Abdul Aziz Alvi, a Pakistani terrorist, is the chief coordinator for the Kashmir region.
Sources explained that while TRF has operational commanders on the ground, direction and strategies are still planned by the LeT leadership in Pakistan.
The operational commander of the LeT is Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who coordinated several high-profile attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Arrested in Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks, Lakhvi was released on bail in 2015 but convicted in 2021 for 15 years. However, videos of him roaming freely in the country came out last year.
Lakhvi oversees military operations, training camps, and attack planning, managing field commanders and logistics.
After Lakhvi, the most important operative in the LeT hierarchy, is Sajid Mir. A key planner of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Mir remains at large and is wanted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. His primary work is focused on international operations and recruitment.
Mir was declared dead by Pakistan when the US asked for his extradition as a condition for removing it from the FATF grey list. Following this, they showed him as arrested. However, pictures of him in public went viral last year.
After Mir comes Mohammed Yahya Mujahid, the head of the LeT’s media department and spokesperson, managing the outfit’s propaganda and public messaging.
Other senior leaders include Haji Muhammad Ashraf, who is in charge of finance and responsible for fundraising and financial logistics, including through JuD and other fronts.
Arif Qasmani is the chief coordinator for external dealings, facilitating ties with other terrorist groups like the al-Qaeda, while Zafar Iqbal, a co-founder of the LeT, is involved in ideological and training aspects.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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