Will UN designate LeT proxy TRF as global terror group? Here is India's big move to corner Pakistan

After the success of Operation Sindoor, India is moving United Nations to get The Resistance Front (TRF) designated as a global terrorist organisation.

TRF had claimed responsibility for the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. However, it backed off from its claim after realising the impact of the heinous attack on geopolitical front.

An Indian delegation has briefed a panel of the UN Security Council about the activities of TRF, which is a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). LeT itself is a UN-proscribed terror group.

This comes after Pakistan, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, used its powers last month to remove the mention of TRF from the press statement of the panel condemning the Pahalgam attack.

Later, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar alleged that TRF was not a terror group but a forum formed by the locals. The final statement also condemned the attack in Jammu and Kashmir "in the strongest terms" but did not mention Pahalgam as it previously did.

The Indian officials discussed the issue with the Monitoring Team of the 1267 Sanctions Committee as well as other UN partner nations.

They also met Vladimir Voronkov, who is the UN Under-Secretary-General for the Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Natalia Gherman, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED).

It should be noted that India had apprised the UN sanctions committee about TRF in May and November 2024, exposing the groups involvement in terror activities. Back in December 2023, India briefed the monitoring team about how LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad operate in India through proxies like TRF.

TRF was formed by merging smaller terror outfits like the Tehreek-e-Millat Islamia and Ghaznavi Hind whose members are linked to the LeT. Some of its leaders were identified as Sajid Jatt, Sheikh Sajjad Gul and Salim Rehmani, all of whom had connections with the LeT. Gul is reportedly hiding in Pakistan's Rawalpindi, where he is said to enjoy the protection of Pakistani espionage agency ISI with the support of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

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