The U.S State Department has designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), noting that TRF had claimed responsibility for the 2025 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, India.
It had stated, "This was the deadliest attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks conducted by LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba). TRF has also claimed responsibility for several attacks against Indian security forces, including most recently in 2024."
On Friday, July 18, 2025, India welcomed the US listing of LeT proxy TRF as a global terrorist outfit. India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, called the USA's decision on TRF a "strong affirmation" of India-US counter-terrorism cooperation. He took to his social media account on X, welcoming the US's move, especially appreciating US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
He said, "Appreciate @SecRubio and @StateDept for designating TRF - a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) proxy - as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). It claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam attack."
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 18, 2025
The State Department emphasized its actions as the Trump administration's strong commitment to "protecting our national security interests, countering terrorism, and enforcing President Trump's call for justice for the Pahalgam attack. Zero tolerance for terrorism."
The statement further read, "TRF and other associated aliases have been added to LeT's designation as an FTO and SDGT pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224, respectively. The Department of State has also reviewed and maintained the FTO designation of LeT. Amendments to FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register."
The Indian Embassy in the US also responded to the listing, saying, "Another demonstration of strong India-USA counter-terrorism cooperation. Appreciate the Department of State for listing The Resistance Front (TRF) as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist."