U.S. designates Pakistani group’s offshoot as ‘terrorist’ over Pahalgam assault

The U.S. authorities designated The Resistance Front, thought-about an offshoot of the Pakistani extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a “foreign terrorist organization” over the Pahalgam assault in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 folks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in an announcement on Thursday (July 17, 2025). The Resistance Front initially took accountability for the assault in Pahalgam earlier than denying it days later.

Lashkar-e-Taiba, listed as a “foreign terrorist organization” by the United States, is a terror group accused of plotting assaults in India and within the West, together with the three-day lethal assault on Mumbai in November 2008. TRF’s designation by Washington as a “foreign terrorist organization” and “specially designated global terrorist” enforced President Donald Trump’s “call for justice for the Pahalgam attack,” Mr. Rubio stated.

Mr. Rubio known as TRF a “front and proxy” for Lashkar-e-Taiba. It is taken into account an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, in line with the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a Delhi-based assume tank. TRF emerged in 2019.

The assault sparked heavy combating between nuclear-armed Asian neighbours India and Pakistan within the newest escalation of a decades-old rivalry. Islamabad denied accountability whereas calling for a impartial investigation. Washington condemned the assault however didn’t instantly blame Pakistan.

On May 7, the Indian Armed Forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, setting off an trade of assaults between the 2 international locations by fighter jets, missiles, drones, and artillery till a ceasefire on May 10.