Washington DC [US], July 18 (HBTV): The US Department of State on Thursday (local time) designated The Resistance Front (TRF), the group behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO).

In a statement issued by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the department confirmed that TRF had claimed responsibility for the April 22, 2025, attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians. The US designated TRF both as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and as a 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 said.

The department said the action underscores the Trump administration's continued commitment to fighting terrorism.

'These actions taken by the Department of State demonstrate 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,' it added.

TRF and associated aliases have now been added to LeT's designation as an FTO and SDGT under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224, respectively. The US Department of State also reviewed and maintained LeT’s FTO designation. The amended designations take effect upon publication in the Federal Register.

Earlier on Tuesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar underscored the need for a firm stance against terrorism, referencing the Pahalgam attack during his address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tianjin.

Speaking about the issue on X, Jaishankar highlighted terrorism, separatism, and extremism as three interlinked threats.

Jaishankar said, 'Recently, we in India witnessed a graphic example in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025. It was deliberately conducted to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir, while sowing a religious divide. The UN Security Council, of which some of us are currently members, issued a statement that condemned it in the strongest terms and “underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice”. We have since done exactly that and will continue doing so. It is imperative that the SCO, to remain true to its founding objectives, take an uncompromising position on this challenge.'

(ANI)