Win for Indian diplomacy: How India got global terror tag for The Resistance Front
Following the April 2023 Pahalgam attack, India launched a swift and effective diplomatic campaign, providing compelling evidence to the US and the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee, resulting in the designation of The Resistance Front (TRF) as a global terrorist organisation.
New Delhi: Through strong diplomatic and intelligence work, India succeeded in getting the global terror tag designation for The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). The move has sent a strong message to Pakistan through global leaders. The process to get TRF a global terror tag started just three days after the April 22nd Pahalgam attack.
Immediately after the attack, India opened its diplomatic channels and presented evidence to the United States, including proof of TRF leadership and claimed TRF's direct involvement in the Baisaran terror attack in which 26 people, including one local Kashmiri, were killed.
Among the first steps to get this tag for the TRF, India submitted a detailed dossier on the TRF to both the Trump administration in Washington and the 1267 Sanctions Committee in New York. This diplomatic outreach ultimately made it easier for the US State Department to formally announce the group as a global terror outfit.
The process to get support from the international community was not as easy as it seems. The process to get the global condemnation against the group was difficult and involved a lot of effort. The process is not simple and is known for its technical rigour and immunity to political influence, unlike the often complex procedures at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). To get it done, India made sure to get a green signal and pass the robust process by clearing all the scrutiny to verify the credibility of the intelligence and data submitted.
Despite Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar's attempts to shield the TRF by demanding the removal of its mention from the Security Council’s condemnation message, India succeeded in its mission. Following the Pahalgam attack, the TRF itself had claimed responsibility for the attack, but Pakistan tried to hide the TRF's involvement to avoid criticism for allowing its soil to be used for terror activities.
Even before the official announcement of tagging the TRF as global officially, India was informed secretly about it at least four days in advance. This secret communication between the two countries shows strong counter-terrorism convergence between India and the US. The announcement came weeks after Field Marshal Hafiz Asim Munir and President Donald Trump had lunch together. Even after several high-profile meetings between the US and Pakistan officials, the US remained unmoved. The US sent out a message of no leniency on terrorism.
India was maintaining close communication with the US after the Phalgham attack. Despite the US president announcing that the peace deal between India and Pakistan was brokered by him, which India vehemently denied, India tried to get all the possible support from the White House for its battle against terrorism.
The communication continued between the Indian and US intelligence and diplomatic channels throughout late April and May. New Delhi continued its briefing campaign, sharing further details on TRF's leadership, identifying Sheikh Sajjad Gul as the mastermind behind the attack. They highlighted how TRF targeted nonlocals and security forces in 2024 and 2025.
The purpose of highlighting all the details and TRF's past activities with the US was served by getting the group tagged as a global terror outfit. The campaign India launched after the Pahalgam attack saw a huge involvement of the Indian government as well. The seriousness and intensity of the campaign against Pakistan and Pakistan-based terror outfits can be measured by the all parties delegations sent to different countries. In May alone, seven Indian delegations, consisting of politicians across party lines, visited 33 countries to highlight Pakistan’s links to terror and TRF’s specific role in the Baisaran attack.
Just three days after the Pahalgam attack, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, on April 25th, briefed key envoys, including those from the US, UK, China, Russia, and France, providing detailed information on the attack's modalities, casualties, and initial intelligence pointing to TRF's role as a LeT proxy. India consistently emphasised to its allies that TRF was not an independent entity but a facade for the Pakistan-based LeT.
These joint diplomatic initiatives culminated on July 18th when the US State Department officially listed TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The US cited direct evidence and intelligence provided by Indian authorities, which conclusively confirmed TRF’s immediate role in the Pahalgam attack and its true nature as a LeT proxy.