UNSC names The Resistance Front in sanctions report

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the first time has officially identified The Resistance Front (TRF) in the latest report of its sanctions monitoring team, stating that the group had initially claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that left 26 civilians dead.

TRF later retracted Pahalgam claim

The report titled ‘Thirty-sixth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’ further stated that although the TRF claimed responsibility for that attack on April 22 and repeated it on the following day, the outfit retracted its claim on April 26 after which there has been no further communication from the TRF.

“On 22 April, five terrorists attacked a tourist spot in Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir. Twenty-six civilians were killed. The attack was claimed that same day by The Resistance Front (TRF), who in parallel published a photograph of the attack site,” stated the UNSC report.

“The claim of responsibility was repeated the following day. On 26 April, however, TRF retracted its claim. There was no further communication from TRF, and no other group claimed responsibility,” it added.

Also Read: EAM Jaishankar welcomes US designation of TRF as terror group

What member states said

The report further stated that while one member state said that the Pahalgam attack could not have taken place with the support of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and there was a relationship between the LET and TRF, another member state said that the attack was carried out by the TRF which was synonymous with LeT. It added that another member state, however, rejected these views and said that LeT was defunct.

“Regional relations remain fragile. There is a risk that terrorist groups may exploit these regional tensions,” started the report.

“One Member State said the attack could not have happened without Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT, QDe. 118), support, and that there was a relationship between LeT and TRF. Another Member State said that 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 added.

Also Read: Tharoor hails US move on TRF, dubs it a step towards bridging the gap

The backdrop

The development comes in the backdrop of the fact that Pakistan had earlier tried to get any mention of the TRF excluded from UNSC reports.

Addressing the Lok Sabha on July 28, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that when the UNSC was debating the issue on April 25, Pakistan defended the TRF even as it had twice claimed responsibility for the attack.

Jaishankar also said that the Pakistani Foreign Minister boasted in their Parliament that it was a great diplomatic achievement.

Jaishankar also pointed out that recently, the US designated TRF as a global terrorist organisation.