US designates TRF as terror group: What it means for India’s FATF push?

The Resistance Front had claimed responsibility behind the terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

The United States on Friday designated The Resistance Front (TRF), the group behind the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 tourists on April 22, as a terrorist organisation.

In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the Department of State's decision to add the TRF under the "Foreign Terrorist Organisation" and "Specially Designated Global Terrorist".

India has welcomed the move, calling it "a strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism operation". "India has consistently emphasised the need for global cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the dismantling of terror infrastructure. The designation of TRF is a timely and important step reflecting the deep cooperation between India and the United States on counter-terrorism," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The government affirmed that India remains committed to a "policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism" and "will continue to work closely with its international partners to ensure that terrorist organisations and their proxies are held accountable".

Boost to India's FATF case against Pakistan

Earlier in May, China helped Pakistan to ensure ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF) is not named in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) press statement issued after the dastardly Pahalgam attack.

With the terror tag from the US, India reversed the tables at the global stage on Thursday. India could now use this move of the TRF’s designation by the US state department to press the UNSC to bring sanctions against the TRF, whom India has termed as a proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to a report by News18.

The move could mean freeze on funding of TRF as well as strengthen India’s case at the FATF meeting in August to put Pakistan back in the ‘grey list’.

What is TRF?

The TRF is a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group.

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a Delhi-based think tank, the group announced its formation over social media via the encrypted messaging platform Telegram on October 12, 2019, days after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 6.

The TRF claims to be an "indigenous resistance group" with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and seeks to "fight on multiple fronts". "...its main goal is to increase the costs of what it terms settler colonial occupation of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)," it said. It has mostly centred its narrative on local grievances to win local support.

Links to LeT

The TRF shares prominent links with Hafiz Saeed's LeT and consists of top commanders from the latter's group. TRF has described itself as being a part of the United Jihad Council, referring to it as its "umbrella group". Besides, the outfit has said it works with other terror outfits in the group to "resist illegal occupation" in Jammu and Kashmir.

The group is mainly active in Anantnag, Shopian, Bandipora, Kulgam, Budgam, Pulwama, Baramulla and Srinagar districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Srinagar is a particular hotbed for TRF activity. Since 2019, there have been 131 arrests and killings linked to TRF, SAPT said.