India’s federal anti-terror agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has made a big disclosure about the funding network of The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy group of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. TRF had earlier claimed responsibility for the killing of 26 innocent tourists during the Pahalgam attack.

The NIA has investigated as many as 463 phone calls connected to anti-India elements and supporters of extremism. Their findings reveal that the TRF received funds from Pakistan, Malaysia, and Gulf countries to spread terror activities across the subcontinent.

According to the NIA, TRF received about Rs 9 lakh through Malaysian resident Yasir Hayat. The investigation has also linked TRF to the network of Sajid Mir, one of the most wanted terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba. To build this case, the agency examined mobile data, social media chats, bank transactions, and call records.

This breakthrough came after successful raids in Srinagar and Handwara in Jammu and Kashmir. During these raids, the NIA recovered crucial documents showing TRF’s foreign funding. The documents contained detailed information on bank accounts and sources connected to the terror group’s finances.

Officials say these findings will help India present a strong case before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The aim is to hold Islamabad accountable and ensure Pakistan faces economic consequences for supporting terrorism. India has been pressing for Pakistan to be placed on the FATF’s watch list again.

Sources told NDTV in May, just after the April 22 Pahalgam attack, that “India has enough evidence on Pakistan's terror funding activities and will try to leverage it to put Islamabad back on the FATF's money laundering grey list.”

Pakistan was earlier on the FATF grey list from June 2018 due to its weak action against terror financing. It was removed in September 2022 after FATF found Islamabad had completed its action plan. While on the list, Pakistan struggled to get foreign aid as financial flows were under strict scrutiny. Experts say being put back on the grey list could worsen Pakistan’s already difficult debt and inflation problems.

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