TRF deserves designation as foreign terrorist organisation: US House Foreign Affairs Committee

New York/Washington: The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs has welcomed the designation of The Resistance Front, a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a global terrorist outfit over the Pahalgam attack, saying anyone who "butchers" civilians doesn’t get a pass but justice.

Last week, the US designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

“President (Donald) Trump calls it like it is. The Resistance Front is a foreign terrorist organisation and deserves the designation," the committee, chaired by Representative Brian Mast, said in a post on X Saturday.

"When you butcher civilians, you don’t get a pass—you get Justice. It was a terrorist attack—simple and straightforward,” the committee said.

It also cited its post on X dated April 22, when the committee had slammed a report by the New York Times on the Pahalgam attack titled “At Least 24 Tourists Gunned Down by Militants in Kashmir”.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority had said, “Hey, @nytimes, we fixed it for you. This was a terrorist attack plain and simple. Whether it’s India or Israel, when it comes to terrorism, the NYT is removed from reality.” In the post, the House Foreign Affairs Committee had struck down the word “militants” in the headline and replaced it with the word “terrorists”, writing the word in bold red letters.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announcing the punitive measure against TRF, had said it was part of Washington's commitment to countering terrorism and enforcing President Trump's call for justice for the Pahalgam attack.  TRF, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) front and proxy, claimed responsibility for the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 civilians.

India welcomed the US decision, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar describing it as a "strong affirmation" of India-US counter-terror cooperation.