New Delhi: The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET), which initially took responsibility for the killings at Pahalgam last year, has now issued fresh threats to Jammu and Kashmir-based intellectuals and political leaders.
In a purported social media post, the TRF, which is recognised by intelligence and security agencies, warned those threatened that their meetings with the administration had not gone “unnoticed” and that it wouldn’t “hesitate to eliminate them and their close associates”.
“Fascist Indian regime is attempting to organise a group of stooges under the guise of a ‘Think Tank intelligentsia’. It has enlisted figures such as Traitor Junaid Quraishi, Altaf Kaloo (among other media personalities), certain professionals and also some exposed(used to be) separatist guys whose names will be revealed shortly,” the purported post read.
Adding, “If these traitors believe their actions and movements go unnoticed, they live in a fools’ world. Their secret meetings with puppet IIOJK regime officials and specific police officers are known to us. We will not hesitate to eliminate them and their close associates if they continue to poison the atmosphere of IIOJK with the venom of the Occupier Indian regime.”
Among those named by the terrorist outfit is Junaid Qureshi, director of the think tank European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS).
Confirming the threat, Qureshi struck a defiant note.
“I have been informed about the threat and the post by the TRF by some local journalists and officials aware of the intelligence inputs. They have asked me to be careful, but I shall not be bogged down by these threats,” he told ThePrint over the phone Friday.
He added that this isn’t the first time he was being threatened by terrorist outfits. Similar threats have been issued in the past over his academic work in which he has spoken about Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, at various platforms such as the UN and the European Parliament, he said.
However, Qureshi did say that the latest threat is “very specific” compared to the earlier ones. Additionally, he said that the TRF’s threats were the first such warning since he relocated to Srinagar to continue his academic work for the think tank he has been associated with for decades.
“Earlier issues were vague in nature, saying things like if this person doesn’t mend his ways, he will face repercussions. This threat is very specific, in which this outfit is admitting awareness of the plans I have not discussed with many people, as well as their clear warning to kill,” he further said.
At the same time, he expressed disappointment that the administration has not acted swiftly in providing him with adequate security, despite the imminent threat to his life.
“They informed me on 28 January about this threat and asked me to be careful. I said I’m always careful but the administration should also take it seriously and do the needful. They must have been trying, but I’ve not been given the security of even one personnel member with a police baton, let alone an armed security detail,” he told ThePrint.
Even before the terrorist attack at Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam in Kashmir’s Anantnag, the TRF was on the radar of intelligence agencies due to a series of attacks on civilians, both in the valley and Jammu region.
It had also taken responsibility for the indiscriminate firing on a bus carrying pilgrims in Reasi district, which resulted in nine deaths.
But TRF, which was listed as a terrorist outfit by the US State Department in July 2025, claimed it never took responsibility either for the Pahalgam attack or the Reasi attack.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: In a first, UNSC panel report mentions Lashkar front TRF, links it to Pahalgam attack