https://p.dw.com/p/4xdbK
An Indian army soldier keeps a vigil from one of the forward post along the line of control between India and Pakistan during a media tour somewhere in north of Indian-controlled Kashmir, Monday, May 19, 2025
The April 22 Pahalgam attack sparked a major escalation in hostilities between the two South Asian nuclear-armed neighborsImage: Mukhtar Khan/AP/picture alliance
Advertisement

The United States on Thursday designated the group behind the April Pahalgam attack in India, which killed 26 people, as a terrorist organization.

The US now lists The Resistance Front (TRF) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the TRF a “front and proxy” of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a UN-designated terrorist group.

Rubio said in a statement that the move reflects Washington’s commitment to counterterrorism and enforces US President Donald Trump’s “call for justice” over the Pahalgam killings.

US move seen as support for India
India welcomed the US decision, with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar calling it a “strong affirmation” of India-US counterterrorism cooperation.

In a statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called “the designation of TRF is a timely and important step reflecting the deep cooperation between India and the United States on counter-terrorism,” The Indian Express newspaper reported.

Experts see the US move as a sign of deepening support for India in the wake of the April terrorist attack.

“This can be a shot in the arm for a U.S.-India relationship looking to rebound after a few tough months,” said Michael Kugelman, a Washington-based South Asia analyst and writer for Foreign Policy magazine told Reuters news agency.

The move comes a day after it was reported that Trump would visit Pakistan in September, although this was not confirmed by Pakistani authorities.