Syllabus:
GS3: Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
Context:
Recently, the U.S. Government designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)’ and as a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) outfit.
More on the News
- The Ministry of External Affairs has called it “a timely and important step”.
- The decision came three months after TRF claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Resistance Front (TRF)
- TRF is a shadow group of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) that was cast to give “an indigenous look” to the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of the special status.
- TRF emerged almost immediately after the abrogation of special status on August 5, 2019.
- By mid-2020, TRF had emerged as a prominent force on Kashmir’s terror map. They were behind a string of attacks that caught the attention of the security establishment in the Kashmir Valley.
- Though TRF fronts for LeT, it operates jointly with other terror groups in the valley.
- In the last three years, several new names have cropped up, like the Kashmir Fight, the Kashmir Tigers, etc. The cadres are the same, only the name is different. They are all shadow groups.
- Unlike Lashkar or Jaish, it TRF is not an outfit with a global presence; it has restricted itself to Jammu and Kashmir.
- In 2023, it was designated as a terrorist organisation by the Indian government under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the group’s founder, Sheikh Sajjad Gul was declared a terrorist.
Significance of the USA Move
- It is a diplomatic win for India and a message to Pakistan.
- It will support efforts to curb terrorism financing and to encourage other nations to do the same.
- It stigmatizes and isolates the TRF internationally, deters donations or contributions to and economic transactions with it.
- It increases public awareness and signals to other governments about the concern about TRF.