In a major diplomatic win for India, the United States has officially declared The Resistance Front (TRF)—a Pakistan-backed terror group—as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The move is seen as a strong step in India-US cooperation against terrorism.

TRF is known to be a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) and was behind the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians. This attack was one of the deadliest in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were also carried out by LeT.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar welcomed the decision and praised the US for supporting India’s efforts against terrorism.

“Strong affirmation” of India-US counterterrorism ties

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), EAM Jaishankar wrote:

"A strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism cooperation. Appreciate Secretary Rubio and the State Department for designating TRF—a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) proxy—as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). It claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam attack."
He ended his post with "Zero tolerance for terrorism. Operation Sindoor."

The US Department of State, led by Secretary Marco Rubio, issued a clear statement about the designation.

"Today, the Department of State is adding The Resistance Front (TRF) as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). 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. TRF has also claimed responsibility for several attacks against Indian security forces, including most recently in 2024."

The US also 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."

India welcomes Trump administration’s support

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement thanking the US for the designation and recognising the support of the Trump administration.

"The TRF, a proxy of the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), has been involved in numerous terror-related activities, including the heinous attack on civilians in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on 22 April 2025, for which it twice claimed responsibility."

The US has now officially added TRF and its aliases under Lashkar-e-Tayyiba’s listing as a terrorist organisation. This was done under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224. The US also confirmed that Lashkar-e-Tayyiba will remain listed as a global terrorist group.

Earlier this week, EAM Jaishankar, speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Tianjin, said that terrorism must be fought without compromise. He also mentioned the Pahalgam attack, which had been strongly condemned by the UN Security Council.

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