In a first, UNSC panel report mentions Lashkar front TRF, links it to Pahalgam attack

The Print

6 days ago

New Delhi has been providing the 1267 Sanctions Committee with detailed inputs of TRF and its linkages with the LeT since 2023. In 2024, on two occasions, India provided the MT with information regarding the activities of the terrorist outfits.
This is the first time that TRF, a wing of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in a United Nations (UN) document, despite hectic efforts by Pakistan to block any such move. The TRF masterminded the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on 22 April that left 26 people dead, according to the government of India.
New Delhi: In a significant diplomatic setback for Islamabad, Pakistan-based terrorist outfit The Resistance Front (TRF) has been named in the Monitoring Team (MT) report of the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council released Wednesday.
For India, the diplomatic significance lies in the fact that the MT reports are adopted by consensus by UNSC members. India is not a member of the international body, while Pakistan is currently a member and holds the rotating presidency. Islamabad's tenure as the rotating president of the UNSC ends on 31 July.
'On 22 April, five terrorists attacked a tourist spot in Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir. Twenty-six civilians were killed. The attack was claimed that same day by The Resistance Front (TRF), who in parallel published a photograph of the attack site. The claim of responsibility was repeated the following day. On 26 April, however, TRF retracted their claim. There was no further communication from TRF, and no other group claimed responsibility,' the MT report said.
Days after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the UNSC put out a statement condemning the terrorist attack, but did not name the TRF due to Islamabad's diplomatic efforts. However, only one member of the UNSC rejected the views of the MT in the report, claiming that the LeT was defunct. Two other members of the council agreed with the linkage of the outfit with the LeT.
'One Member State said the attack could not have happened without Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT, QDe.118) support, and that there was a relationship between LeT and TRF. Another Member State said that the attack was carried out by TRF, who was synonymous with LeT. One Member State rejected these views and said LeT was defunct,' said the report.
Pakistani Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Daq claimed credit for keeping TRF out of the UNSC statement during a speech to the National Assembly in April. Pakistan has maintained that no such organisation exists and that the LeT is defunct within its borders.
The inclusion of TRF in the MT report also acknowledges New Delhi's position that Pakistan has started creating proxy organisations using secular or modern names to maintain plausible deniability with regard to cross-border terrorism.
Organisations like TRF or the People Against Fascist Front, a front for the Jaish-e-Mohammad, are seen as an attempt by Islamabad to give an indigenous appearance to its terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Despite Islamabad's diplomatic efforts, the US earlier this month designated TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and Specially Designated Global Terrorist, in a move seen as a major diplomatic victory for India. A designation by the US could impact access to foreign financing and prevent travel by group members.
TRF twice claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, before withdrawing its claim on 26 April.
On Monday, a joint operation codenamed 'Mahadev' by the Indian forces eliminated three terrorists—Suleiman, Afghan and Jibran—in the Valley. The three were behind the Pahalgam terrorist attack revealed Amit Shah, India's Minister for Home Affairs, during a speech to the Lok Sabha Tuesday.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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