Is TRF behind Pahalgam terror attack? Killing of tourists is seen as an attempt to draw global attention to Kashmir

The Resistance Front, a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, is suspected to be behind the Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday.

 

The outfit, which emerged after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, was formed by members of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen, and was banned by the Union Home Ministry in 2023.

 

However, security agencies are also examining how cross-border infiltration backed by the Pakistan army in the last few months was part of a renewed strategy to create unrest through targeted attacks on civilians.

 

The TRF has been skilfully leveraging the post-Article 370 landscape to target symbols of peace and development to destabilise peace efforts, sources said, indicating that the brutal killing of tourists in Pahalgam was an attempt to draw international attention to Kashmir once again.

 

The timing of the attack is being questioned as it comes in the backdrop of the ongoing visit of US Vice President J.D. Vance and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia—the first visit by any Indian PM to the port city of Jeddah in 40 years.

 

Saudi Arabia has been refusing to endorse Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, a stand that has irked the  ISI which has been consolidating its hold on terror groups to counter India’s growing security prowess in the region.

 

The changing global dynamics, a senior official said, have changed the cross-border strategy of the Pakistan Army, which is not only focused on provoking Indian forces with mock firings but also trying to attract international attention to alleged violations from the Indian side.

 

On October 20, 2024, terrorists unleashed a brutal assault on the construction site of the Z-Morh tunnel in Gagangir, Sonamarg, Ganderbal. The attack left seven civilians dead, including a doctor and six construction workers, many of whom were non-local labourers working on an infrastructure project of strategic and economic importance. The attack was later claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF).

India