'Zero tolerance for terrorism': Jaishankar hails US action on Lashkar proxy TRF; calls it strong India-US coordination

NEW DELHI: In a major diplomatic victory for India, the United States has designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a Pakistan-backed proxy of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday welcomed the move, calling it a "strong affirmation" of counterterrorism cooperation.TRF, a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, was behind the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 civilians.In a X post, EAM said: ""A strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism cooperation. Appreciate Secretary Rubio and State Department for designating TRF—a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) proxy—as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). It claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam attack.""Zero tolerance for terrorism. Operation Sindoor," he added.The US department of state, led by secretary Marco Rubio, issued a statement designating TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). "Today, the Department of State is adding The Resistance Front (TRF) as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). TRF, a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) front and proxy, claimed responsibility for the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam attack which killed 26 civilians. This was the deadliest attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks conducted by LeT. TRF has also claimed responsibility for several attacks against Indian security forces, including most recently in 2024," the statement read.It further added, "These actions taken by the department of state demonstrates the Trump Administration's commitment to protecting our national security interests, countering terrorism, and enforcing President Trump's call for justice for the Pahalgam attack."The MEA, in a statement, welcomed the United States' action against The Resistance Front (TRF) and acknowledged the role of the Trump administration in this decision."The TRF, a proxy of the Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), has been involved in numerous terror-related activities, including the heinous attack on civilians in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on 22 April 2025, for which it twice claimed responsibility," the MEA said.TRF and its aliases have now been added under Lashkar-e-Tayyiba's existing FTO and SDGT listings, as per Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224. The department also reaffirmed the continued terrorist designation of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.Earlier on Tuesday, EAM Jaishankar specified the need for an uncompromising approach to combating terrorism, referring to the recent Pahalgam terror attack in India, which was strongly condemned by the UN Security Council.He made the remarks while speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) council of foreign ministers Meeting held in Tianjin.