‘There is a risk that…’: UNSC mentions The Resistance Front in report on Pahalgam attack

The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy for the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has found mention in a UN Security Council (UNSC) report for its role in the Pahalgam attack. This mention is expected to bolster India’s position against Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism. 

The report, prepared by UNSC's Monitoring Team (MT), quoted a member state as saying that the Pahalgam attack without the support of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and without a relationship between LeT and TRF.

The report said that five terrorists carried out the Pahalgam attack. "The attack was claimed that same day by The Resistance Front (TRF), which in parallel published a photograph of the attack site. The claim of responsibility was repeated the following day," it said. The MT report also noted that TRF retracted the claim it made about the attack, and there was no further communication from it. No other group had claimed responsibility. 

"Regional relations remain fragile. There is a risk that terrorist groups may exploit these regional tensions. One member State said the attack could not have happened without LeT's support, and that there was a relationship between LeT and TRF. Another member state said the attack was carried out by TRF, which was synonymous with LeT. One member state rejected these views and said that LeT was defunct," it said.

While it has not named the nation but the member state that claimed LeT was defunct appears to be Pakistan. 

This mention comes as a blow to Pakistan whose foreign minister boasted in the Pakistan National Assembly about removing the references to TRF in the UNSC press statement condemning the Pahalgam attack. 

The UNSC's 1267 Sanctions Committee is tasked to implement sanctions against terrorists, terror groups, and entities.