TRF listing part of strong India, US counter-terrorism cooperation

India has welcomed the listing of "The Resistance Front (TRF)" by the United States as a terror group. The group claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians were killed. The Indian embassy in the United States, in a statement, termed the development as "another demonstration of strongIndia-USA counter-terrorism cooperation" while "appreciating" the Department of State for listing The Resistance Front (TRF)as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation and Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

Important to note, both in the India-US Joint statement of February, and in the Quad foreign minister joint statement, key focus was on counter-terror cooperation.The India US joint statement of February mentioned both side committing to "strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups, including Al-Qa’ida, ISIS, Jaish-e Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in order to prevent heinous acts like the attacks in Mumbai on 26/11 and the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021". The statement that was issued after PM Modi's Washington DC visit to meet US President Donald Trump called on "Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai, and Pathankot attacks and ensure that its territory is not used to carry out cross-border terrorist attacks."

The Quad foreign ministers' joint statement of July condemned the Pahalgam terror attack. It said, "Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, and renews our commitment to counterterrorism cooperation", calling on the "perpetrators, organisers, and financiers of this reprehensible act to be brought to justice without any delay". Infact, every Quad statement has called on counterterror cooperation.

The US designation of TRF is expected to pave the way for other countries to list the terror group in their own domestic listings. Important to point out, the US in its announcement called TRF as a "front and proxy" of the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) which is on the UN terror list.

Pakistan reaction is awaited on the US listing of TRF, given that the country was defending it hours after the Pahalgam terror attack. Pakistan foreign minister Dar in April told the country's parliament that they "opposed mention of TRF (The resistance forum) at the UNSC statement condemning the Pahalgam terror attack...TRF was deleted & Pakistan prevailed". The country is a non permanent member of the UNSC for a 2 year term, and also sits on UN's 1267 terror sanctions body.