US designates Pakistani group’s offshoot as ‘terrorist’ organization over Kashmir attack

The U.S. government labeled The Resistance Front, seen as a branch of the Pakistani extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a “foreign terrorist organization” following the Islamist militant attack in India-administered Kashmir on April 22 that resulted in 26 deaths, stated Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday.

The Resistance Front, referred to as Kashmir Resistance, first claimed responsibility for the assault in Pahalgam but later retracted that statement days afterward. Lashkar-e-Taiba, designated as a “foreign terrorist organization” by the United States, is an Islamist organization charged with planning attacks in India and the West, including the lethal three-day siege in Mumbai in November 2008.

Rubio stated that Washington’s classification of TRF as a “foreign terrorist organization” and “specially designated global terrorist” supported President Donald Trump’s “demand for justice regarding the Pahalgam attack.”

Rubio described TRF, established in 2019, as a “proxy and front” for Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a think tank based in Delhi, it is viewed as a branch of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The attack in April triggered intense clashes between India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed neighbors, marking the latest intensification of a long-standing rivalry. New Delhi accused Pakistan of the attack, which rejected the allegations and requested an impartial inquiry. Washington denounced the assault but did not explicitly accuse Islamabad.

He added: “This can be a shot in the arm for a U.S.-India relationship looking to rebound after a few tough months.”