Pakistan Backs U.S. Move to Label TRF a Terrorist Group, Rejects LeT Connection: FM Ishaq Dar

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar expressed no objections to the United States’ recent decision to designate The Resistance Front (TRF) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), emphasizing Pakistan’s stance on the group during a Washington, D.C. event. The U.S. and India link TRF, which claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam attack, to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Speaking after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, Dar said, “The U.S. decision to list TRF is their prerogative. We have no issue with it and welcome any evidence of their involvement.” He firmly rejected claims tying TRF to LeT, asserting that Pakistan dismantled LeT years ago, with its members prosecuted and imprisoned.

In April, Dar told Pakistan’s Parliament that Islamabad successfully blocked references to TRF in a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Pahalgam attack. “We resisted TRF’s inclusion in the UNSC statement and prevailed despite pressure from global capitals,” he said, noting that Pakistan required more evidence of TRF’s activities at the time. Responding to a question from Hindustan Times at the Washington event, Dar reiterated that no sufficient proof against TRF was available to justify its mention in the UNSC statement.

India, which designated TRF a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in January 2023, has consistently urged global recognition of TRF as a terror group. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, TRF surfaced in 2019 through social media and has since claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, including a 2021 grenade attack in Srinagar that injured seven civilians and several targeted killings. India has submitted evidence to the UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee in May and November 2024, following earlier efforts in 2023, to push for TRF’s international terrorist designation.