Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has responded to the United States’ decision to label The Resistance Front (TRF) as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). His remarks came shortly after the terror group was officially added to the U.S. list, following its claim of responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam attack in India.
Dar Acknowledges U.S. Decision, Seeks Evidence
Speaking at an event in Washington, D.C., Dar said Pakistan respected the U.S. decision but insisted that any allegations should be backed with proof. “It is obviously a sovereign decision of the United States to designate the TRF. We have no issue. And we welcome, if they have any evidence, that they are involved,” he stated.
Dar had met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier that day.
“TRF Is Not Linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba,” Claims Pakistan
Dar rejected the commonly held belief by both India and the U.S. that the TRF is an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. He reiterated the Pakistani government’s longstanding claim that Lashkar-e-Taiba no longer exists as an operational group.
“Linking the TRF to the Lashkar-e-Taiba is wrong. That outfit was dismantled years ago by Pakistan. The actors were prosecuted, arrested and jailed, and the entire outfit was destroyed,” said Dar.
Pakistan Had Opposed Mention of TRF in UNSC Statement
Earlier, Dar told Pakistan’s Parliament that Islamabad had actively worked to remove any reference to the TRF from a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution that condemned the Pahalgam attack.
“We opposed the mention of TRF in the UNSC statement. I got calls from global capitals, but Pakistan will not accept. TRF was deleted, and Pakistan prevailed,” Dar said back in April.
He explained that Pakistan needed more evidence about TRF’s role before agreeing to its mention in international documents. He repeated this justification at the public event in Washington, responding to a question from Hindustan Times.
India Declared TRF a Terror Group in 2023
India had officially designated the TRF as a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in January 2023. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, the TRF appeared in 2019 through posts on social media and has since claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. These include a grenade blast in Srinagar that injured seven civilians and several targeted killings in 2021.
India has continuously urged the international community to recognise TRF as a terrorist group. The Indian government submitted evidence to the United Nations 1267 Sanctions Committee in May and November 2024, and had also raised the issue throughout 2023.
