NEW DELHI:In a boost to India’s case against Pakistan-backed terrorism, a UN Security Council report has identified The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy, as responsible for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
The latest report by the UNSC’s Monitoring Team (MT), under the 1267 Sanctions Committee, cites multiple unnamed member states to assert that the Pahalgam attack “could not have happened without Lashkar-e-Taiba’s support” and confirms that TRF operates in close coordination with the banned Pakistan-based terror group.
All decisions and reports under the 1267 Sanctions Committee are adopted by consensus, making TRF's inclusion diplomatically significant. Despite prior attempts by Pakistan to distance itself from the attack and sanitise references to TRF, its mention in the MT report could be seen as a signal of growing global scepticism toward Islamabad’s narrative.
According to the report, TRF initially claimed responsibility for the April 22 massacre, even releasing photographs of the site. It reiterated its claim the next day, before retracting it on April 26, a move many analysts view as damage control amid international scrutiny. No other group stepped forward to claim responsibility.
The report further highlights divergent views among member states. While one asserted that TRF is essentially synonymous with LeT, another — widely believed to be Pakistan — claimed that LeT was “defunct,” a statement countered by evidence presented in the report. The MT concluded that five terrorists were involved in the Pahalgam assault.
India has long accused Pakistan of using terror groups under pseudonyms like TRF and People Against Fascist Front to project an indigenous resistance in Kashmir while concealing the hand of groups such as LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The MT’s findings effectively pierce this façade.
“This is a clear indictment of Pakistan's strategy of plausible deniability," said a person familiar with the matter.
“Despite Islamabad's efforts, the UN has recognised the link between TRF and LeT. This marks the first direct reference to LeT or any Pakistan-based group in a UNSC MT report since 2019.”
The timing also puts a spotlight on Pakistan’s diplomatic maneuvering. Earlier, its foreign minister had boasted in the National Assembly about successfully removing TRF references from a UNSC press statement on the Pahalgam attack. The reappearance of TRF in the MT report is being seen by India as a setback for Pakistan’s credibility and an affirmation of India’s consistent position on the global counter-terrorism stage.
With mounting evidence and growing international consensus, India is expected to leverage this development in its ongoing diplomatic push to hold Pakistan accountable for using terror as an instrument of state policy.
