Friday 18 / July / 2025
Washington DC : US Department of State on Thursday (local time) designated The Resistance Front (TRF), group behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, as a terrorist organisation.
In a statement issued by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the statement acknowledged the fact that the organisation claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir which claimed the lives of 26 civilians.
The US, therefore, accorded the TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
"Today, the Department of State is adding The Resistance Front (TRF) as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (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 statement read.
The statement said that this action demonstrated the US President Donald Trump administration's commitment of countering terrorism.
"These actions taken by the Department of State demonstrates 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," the statement said.
"TRF and other associated aliases have been added to LeT's designation as a FTO and SDGT pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224, respectively. The Department of State has also reviewed and maintained the FTO designation of LeT. Amendments to FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register," the statement added.
What This Designation Enables
The FTO and SDGT designations give the U.S. government legal and financial powers to disrupt TRF globally:
Material support is now a crime. Under U.S. law, providing money, weapons, training, technology, or services to TRF is punishable by up to 20 years in prison or life if deaths result.
TRF-linked assets can be frozen. Any funds that touch the U.S. financial system can be seized. This includes shell companies, crypto accounts, and any channel connected to global banking networks.
Secondary sanctions apply. Any entity or individual doing business with TRF can be penalized. This affects banks, suppliers, media platforms, and anyone who enables the group's operations.
TRF members are blocked from entering the United States. Those already present are subject to removal.
Intelligence targeting can escalate. TRF is now a legal priority for surveillance, watchlisting, international coordination, and counterterror action.
Extraditions and criminal cases can be pursued globally. The designation allows the U.S. to work with allies on arrests and prosecutions.
A Strategic Win for India
India designated TRF a terrorist group in 2023, but international recognition lagged. That changed today.
The U.S. designation supports India's case at the United Nations and gives momentum to the push for TRF’s listing under the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee.
This move must not be the final step. It should now lead directly to a United Nations designation of TRF as a global terrorist entity. That would impose binding obligations on all member states to freeze TRF assets, block travel, and cut off arms flows. The U.S. designation gives India the strongest possible platform to press for that action.
Operation Sindoor Changed the Game
India did not wait for global consensus. It acted.
Following the Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor, a limited war targeting the very infrastructure used by groups like TRF and LeT. The operation was precise, swift, and decisive. India demonstrated that it would no longer rely on restraint alone. It unveiled a new doctrine that prioritizes deterrence through dominance and punishment through credible force.
This was not just a counterterror response. It was a signal. India revealed its ability to combine intelligence, precision airpower, and indigenous technology into a short, high-intensity campaign that achieved clear strategic effects. TRF was not just named. It was hit.
Now the United States has followed with the diplomatic and legal strike.
The designation makes TRF radioactive.
Anyone associated with it, whether a fundraiser in Dubai, or a supplier moving weapons into Kashmir, can now be hit with sanctions, criminal charges, and global blacklisting. This is not just about the men pulling the trigger. It is about the network that equips, funds, and protects them.
The Resistance Front no longer operates in the shadows. The United States has lit it up. And now everyone behind it is exposed.
