In a major diplomatic win for India, a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) report has, for the first time, explicitly named The Resistance Front (TRF) a proxy of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)-in connection with the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist
attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians.
The 36th report of the UN’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team (MT), submitted to the
1267 Sanctions Committee, contains a landmark reference in Paragraph 84 of its Asia section.
It identifies TRF as the group that initially claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, even posting photographs from the site before retracting its claim four days later.
The Monitoring Team noted that no other group came forward to claim responsibility, leaving TRF as the only entity directly linked to the incident.
This mention marks the first time TRF has appeared in any UN document, exposing the operational connection between TRF and LeT.
The report is a significant setback for Pakistan’s long-standing strategy of using secular-sounding front groups to camouflage the operations of jihadi outfits like LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Groups like TRF and the People Against Fascist Front were designed to appear indigenous to Kashmir’s political landscape, masking their foreign sponsorship.
But the UNSC report breaks that façade. It cites multiple UN Member States, one of which assessed that the Pahalgam attack could not have happened without LeT’s support” and that TRF has a working relationship with LeT. Another member went further, asserting that TRF is synonymous with LeT. Only one country-widely believed to be Pakistan contested this, claiming LeT was now defunct.
Despite Pakistan’s reported lobbying to remove references to TRF, including an earlier boast by its Foreign Minister about achieving just that in previous UNSC press statements, the Monitoring Team’s consensus-based report tells a different story-one shaped by facts, not spin.
Diplomatic Triumph for Indial, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, addressing the Rajya Sabha, confirmed that India had succeeded in getting TRF recognized as a LeT proxy despite not currently being a member of the Security Council.
Jaishankar credited the result to intensive diplomatic engagement. Since December 2023, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has submitted multiple dossiers to the UN, detailing TRF’s structure, links to LeT, and operational evidence. In May 2024, a high-level inter-ministerial Indian delegation visited New York to brief UN officials and present hard intelligence. This was followed by consistent efforts from Indian missions worldwide, backed by parliamentary diplomacy.
The report’s adoption by consensus of all 15 Security Council members underlines the growing global consensus with India’s counter-terrorism stance, particularly against state-sponsored terror.
This development comes amid renewed scrutiny of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism commitments, especially in the context of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), where India has pushed for accountability.
The report notes that five terrorists were involved in the Pahalgam attack, which targeted a popular tourist site, killing 26 civilians. TRF claimed responsibility twice before retracting the statement, raising suspicion of internal or external pressure. The retraction did not convince global observers, especially since no other group came forward.
India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ in retaliation, targeting terrorist infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. More recently, Operation Mahadev led to the killing of three terrorists believed to be directly involved in the Pahalgam attack, according to Home Minister Amit Shah.
The UNSC report signals a turning point in how the international community views terrorism in South Asia. While prior UN statements-including a Security Council press release on April 25-did not name TRF (allegedly due to Pakistani pressure), the Monitoring Team’s authoritative inclusion of TRF in this latest report cannot be dismissed.
It also coincides with the United States’ decision this month to designate TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity, further isolating Pakistan on the world stage.
Experts view the report as a diplomatic watershed. It validates India’s long-standing position that terror in Jammu and Kashmir is not homegrown but orchestrated from across the border. Moreover, it exposes the duplicity of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism narrative, which has often oscillated between denial and covert support.
The inclusion of TRF in the Monitoring Team’s report stands as both a vindication of India’s counter-terror diplomacy and a diplomatic indictment of Pakistan’s duplicity. It reflects India’s increasing credibility and leadership in global counter-terrorism efforts.
As External Affairs Minister Jaishankar put it, the world is finally seeing through Pakistan’s lies and deceitful narrative. With mounting international recognition and growing cooperation among like-minded nations, India’s campaign to expose cross-border terrorism appears to have entered a decisive phase.
