{"id":55749,"date":"2025-07-19T11:17:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T05:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=55749"},"modified":"2025-07-19T11:17:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T05:47:51","slug":"us-declares-the-resistance-front-as-global-terror-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/us-declares-the-resistance-front-as-global-terror-group\/","title":{"rendered":"US Declares The Resistance Front as Global Terror Group: What It Means"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>The Resistance Front Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The United States designated <\/span><b>The Resistance Front (TRF)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TRF, an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam attack in South Kashmir, which killed 26 people.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The designation strengthens efforts to isolate the group globally by freezing its assets and restricting its international operations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Resistance Front: A Shadow Outfit of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Kashmir<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Resistance Front (TRF) is a terrorist group believed to be a proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), formed shortly after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Announcing its existence via Telegram on October 12, 2019, TRF claims to be an &#8220;indigenous resistance group&#8221; operating in Jammu and Kashmir.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While trying to project itself as secular and locally driven\u2014steering clear of overt Islamic imagery\u2014the group seeks to fight against what it calls the &#8220;settler colonial occupation&#8221; of the region.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its current chief is Sheikh Sajjad Gul, with Ahmad Khalid as its spokesperson, while its founder Muhammad Abbas Sheikh was killed in 2021.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Links to LeT<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TRF is a rebranded front of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), operating under the direction of Pakistan\u2019s army and ISI.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rebranding helps it evade scrutiny from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and appear as an indigenous movement.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TRF relies heavily on LeT\u2019s operational, logistical, and financial support, with its leadership and bases located in Pakistan.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Modus Operandi\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Active in various districts of Jammu and Kashmir\u2014especially Srinagar\u2014TRF has been involved in several high-profile terror attacks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These include:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the April 2025 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 tourists,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the October 2024 Ganderbal killings of seven civilians,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a June 2024 bus attack in Reasi, and\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a 2020 attack in Srinagar\u2019s Lal Chowk that claimed six lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite its effort to rebrand militancy as a local movement, TRF remains deeply intertwined with Pakistan-backed terror infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Digital Warfare and Propaganda<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TRF runs a sophisticated digital propaganda arm, including the portal <\/span><b><i>KashmirFight<\/i><\/b><b>,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which spreads separatist narratives and claims responsibility for attacks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although disguised as a human rights blog, it promotes terrorism and operates on various platforms.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also collaborates with Jhelum Media House (JMH), another TRF-linked propaganda outlet.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These platforms are used for recruitment, coordination, and psychological operations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Crackdown on TRF<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India officially banned TRF in January 2023, under the <\/span><b>Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, recognizing it as a serious threat to national security.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ministry of External Affairs has consistently highlighted TRF\u2019s role as a front for Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In its biannual reports submitted to the <\/span><b>UN\u2019s 1267 Sanctions Committee<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in May and November 2024, India provided detailed inputs on TRF\u2019s operations and affiliations.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UN\u2019s 1267 Sanctions Committee, officially the ISIL (Da&#8217;esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, is a UN Security Council body.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is responsible for enforcing sanctions\u2014such as travel bans, asset freezes, and arms embargoes\u2014on individuals and entities linked to ISIL and Al-Qaida.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Established in 1999 through Resolution 1267, it was initially focused on targeting the Taliban and Al-Qaida.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Implications of US Designation of TRF as a Terror Group<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The United States designates foreign groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) under <\/span><b>Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to curb their operations and funding.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This designation makes it <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">illegal for any US-based individual or entity to offer material support to the group<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, American financial institutions must block any transactions or assets linked to the group.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The US Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) may further classify such groups as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), leading to asset freezes and prohibitions on any financial dealings with them.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These measures aim to isolate and weaken the group globally, and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can also result in secondary sanctions on foreign individuals or companies that continue to support or conduct business with the designated group<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n<strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/india-welcomes-us-listing-of-the-resistance-front-as-global-terrorist-outfit\/article69826150.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/the-resistance-front-trf-designated-fto-us-pahalgam-attack-10134324\/lite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatoday.in\/india-today-insight\/story\/why-us-branding-pahalgam-perpetrator-trf-a-global-terror-outfit-is-a-message-to-pakistan-2757806-2025-07-18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US designates TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and SDGT. Learn about its links to LeT and implications for India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":55759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,1660,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-55749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-the-resistance-front","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}