What is The Resistance Front, responsible for killing of 3 security officers in J&K?

Tensions continue to simmer in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag where three security officers lost their lives in an encounter with terrorists on Wednesday (13 September). Security forces have launched a counter-terror operation to flush out terrorists in Anantnag’s Kokernag area.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police said today (14 September) that the security forces have “encircled” two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, including one named Uzair Khan.

“In solemn tribute to the unwavering valor of Col Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonak & DSP Humayun Bhat who laid down their lives leading from the front during this ongoing operation. Our forces persist with unwavering resolve as they encircle 2 LeT terrorists including Uzair Khan,” Kashmir Zone Police said in a post on X.

In solemn tribute to the unwavering valor of Col Manpreet Singh,Major Ashish Dhonak & DSP Humayun Bhat who laid down their lives leading from the front during this ongoing operation. Our forces persist with unwavering resolve as they encircle 2 LET terrorists including Uzair Khan

— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) September 14, 2023

Three officers, including deputy superintendent (DySP) of J&K Police Humayun Bhat and Indian Army’s Colonel Manpreet Singh and Major Ashish Dhonack, were martyred in the gunfight with terrorists. Terror outfit The Resistance Front (TRF) has claimed responsibility for the killings.

What is the TRF and how has it become a security concern in J&K? We explain.

Origins of TRF

The Resistance Front is an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba which came into existence as an online entity following the abrogation of Article 370 and revocation of special status to J&K in August 2019.

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As per Indian Express, TRF, which is based in Pakistan’s Karachi, on the ground is a blend of several organisations, including LeT, Tehreek-e-Millat Islamia and Ghaznavi Hind.

A senior security official told the newspaper that the militant outfit was named The Resistance Front so as not to give it a religious colour but to portray it as a “people’s movement” in order to avoid scrutiny under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

“Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammad had religious connotations and Pakistan did not want that. They wanted to make Kashmir militancy appear indigenous. Hence, they opted for ‘Resistance’ — that has some currency in global politics — in its name,” the officer told Indian Express.

Notably, Pakistan was put on the Paris-based watchdog FATF’s “grey list” of countries in 2018 and was only removed last October. Those countries which FATF deems have failed to prevent international money laundering and terrorist financing are placed on its global watchlist.

TRF has been taking responsibility for attacks in Jammu and Kashmir since 2020. Its leadership included Sajid Jatt, Sajjad Gul and Salim Rehmani, all associated with Lashkar, as per the Indian Express report.

Officials believe that making TRF claim responsibility for attacks was done to divert attention from LeT and other terror groups under the purview of FATF, the report added.

“The new outfit was formed with the purpose to maintain plausible deniability to Pakistan for attacks in India while it was under the scrutiny of the FATF”, a a senior intelligence official told Hindustan Times (HT).

India bans TRF

In January this year, the Centre banned TRF which it said was a “proxy” of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed-led LeT.

“The Resistance Front came into existence in the year 2019 as a proxy outfit of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a proscribed terrorist organisation listed at serial number 5 of the first schedule under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act)," the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said in a notification at the time.

The ministry further said that TRF “is recruiting youth through online medium for furtherance of terrorist activities” and “has been involved in carrying out propaganda on terror activities, recruitment of terrorists, infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir”.

According to MHA, TRF is “involved in psychological operations on social media platforms for inciting people of Jammu and Kashmir to join terrorist outfits against Indian state”, reported HT. 

The Central government has also declared TRF commander Sajjad Gul a designated terrorist.

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TRF emerges as security threat in J&K

The TRF has been involved in many terror attacks, including the killings of minority Kashmiri Pandits in the valley. The group has also attacked security forces in Kashmir over the last years, reported HT.

According to India Today, TRF has become one of the most active terror groups in India.

As per the J&K Police data for 2022, about 172 terrorists were killed in the valley, out of which 108 belonged to TRF or LeT, followed by Jaish at 35.

Of the 100 individuals recruited by militant groups last year, 74 had joined TRF.

In February, TRF had threatened to “kill anyone working for the revenue department or whose machines are used” for demolitions during the ‘anti-encroachment’ drive in J&K.

As per the India Today report, the TRF has claimed responsibility for the latest attack on three security officers in the Anantnag district, saying it was an “act of revenge” for the killing of their veteran leader in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

LeT commander Riyaz Ahmed, wanted by India, was shot dead inside the Al-Qudus mosque in PoK’s Rawalkot on 8 September.

However, ThePrint has reported that the Anantnag encounter was an “intelligence-based operation that went haywire”, launched on Tuesday evening to bust a hideout of terrorists in the thick jungles of the Kokernag area.

With inputs from agencies