Pahalgam: What's ‘The Resistance Front', LeT ‘proxy' behind the deadliest terror attack on tourists in Kashmir?

Mint

22-04-2025

The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, is believed to be behind Tuesday's terrorist attack in Pahalgam's Baisaran that has left 26, mostly tourists, dead.
The deaths could rise, as per reports from Pahalgam – a popular tourist destination in South Kashmir's Anantnag district.
'More than 85,000 domiciles have been issued to non-locals, creating a pathway for demographic change in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. These non-locals arrive posing as tourists, obtain domiciles, and then begin to act as if they own the land," the TRF said in a statement being circulated on social media.
Mint could not verify the statement's credibility claiming responsibility for the Pahgalgam attack. "Consequently, violence will be directed toward those attempting to settle illegally," it said.
The Pahalgam attack is one of the deadliest attacks in Kashmir in general and post-abrogation of Article 370 in particular.
On June 9, the day of the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, unidentified terrorists fired upon a bus ferrying pilgrims, resulting in the death of at least 10 people and injuries to 33 others in the Reasi district of the Jammu region.
The Resistance Front (TRF) is a new terrorist outfit that emerged in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. Believed to be a proxy arm of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), TRF was formed to provide a localised face' to the militancy in Kashmir, according to reports.
Founded in October 2019, the group was led by Sheikh Sajjad Gul as the Supreme Commander, with Basit Ahmed Dar serving as the Chief Operational Commander. The TRF was initially formed with cadres from Hizbul Mujahideen and LeT, according to reports. The Union government has been calling TRF as a 'proxy' front for the LeT.
Born on October 10, 1974 in Srinagar, Gul was designated as terrorist by the government in 2022. Of 172 terrorists that were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, 108 were linked to TRF, according to a 2022 data.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) banned TRF and all its manifestations and front organisations in January 2023. The Ministry has declared them as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.
The MHA made the announcement through a notification, mentioning that "the activities of TRF are detrimental for the national security and sovereignty of India."
The MHA said the LeT proxy is 'involved in psychological operations on social media platforms for inciting people of Jammu and Kashmir to join terrorist outfits against Indian state'.
'The Resistance Front came into existence in the year 2019 as a proxy outfit of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a proscribed terrorist organisation listed at serial number 5 of the first schedule under the UAPA," a notification issued by the MHA said.
TRF, is recruiting youth through online medium for furtherance of terrorist activities and has been involved in carrying out propaganda on terror activities, recruitment of terrorists, infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir, the notification said.
The TRF has had a role in majority of attacks on civilians, including Kashmiri Pandits and migrant workers as well as security forces in Kashmir, for the past many years.
Before the attack on tourists Pahalgam on Tuesday, TRF, the banned outfit, claimed responsibility for the attack at a construction site in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district, which killed a doctor and six migrant workers in October 2024.
TRF chief Gul is the mastermind of the attack and the group's local module, carried out the attack targeting Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris together, according to a TRF statement after the Ganderbal attack in 2024 said.
Another major attack involving TRF was April 1, 2020 when the group engaged in a four-day gun battle near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Keran sector of Kupwara. Five Indian para commandos were killed along with the terrorists.