According to the MHA notification, the TRF was established as a proxy outfit of the Pakistan-based terror organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), which is listed as a proscribed organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The ministry stated that the TRF has been involved in “propaganda on terror activities, recruitment of terrorists, infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir”.
Terrorists trained in Pak, says probe
Initial investigations into the attack indicate that the number of terrorists involved could range from five to seven, aided by at least two local militants who received training in Pakistan, officials said on Wednesday.
According to officials, the role of Aadil Thokar, alias Aadil Guree, of Bijbehara has emerged based on identification by the wife of one of the deceased.
Officials believe that Thokar crossed over to Pak in 2018 where he underwent armed training with LeT before infiltrating back into India.
Security agencies released the sketches of three men suspected to be involved in the attack. The men, all three Pakistanis, are Asif Fauji, Suleman Shah and Abu Talha, officials said.
They had code names — Moosa, Yunus and Asif — and were involved in terror-related incidents in Poonch.
The MHA further noted that the TRF has been recruiting youth online and spreading terror-related propaganda to advance its objectives. On January 20, 2023, the group was officially designated a terrorist organisation under Section 35 of the UAPA. It was listed along with LeT under the name “Lashkar-e-Toiba/Pasban-e-Ahle Hadis/The Resistance Front and all its manifestations and front organisations”.
The Pahalgam attack, in which nearly all victims were tourists from other parts of India, reflects this shift in modus operandi.
