New frightening face

• The killings of 25 tourists and a local pony operator by terrorists in Pahalgam’s Baisaran, south Kashmir, on April 22 sparked national attention and highlighted The Resistance Front (TRF).

• TRF, initially claimed responsibility, later withdrew, is seen as an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Kashmir.

• The TRF emerged in the militancy landscape of Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre abrogated Article 370 in 2019.

• The TRF’s tactics have changed since April 2020, with a shift towards higher training, online propaganda, and high-end weaponry.

• Around 200 TRF cadres have been killed since 2019 in Kashmir, and the outfit remains a faceless force.

• The killings of Muhammad Abbas Sheikh and Basit Dar in 2021 and May 2024 left the TRF faceless.

• The TRF has started a series of targeted killings of minorities, leading to mass migration of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley.

• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has identified a Pakistani national, Habibullah Malik, as the main handler of the TRF.

• The TRF initially attributed the attack on tourists in Pahalgam to the increasing number of domicile certificates issued to outsiders in J&K.

• The TRF denies any involvement in the Pahalgam incident, stating it is part of an orchestrated campaign to malign the Kashmiri resistance.