The Centre on Thursday declared the Resistance Front, a proxy of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, a “terrorist organisation” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The government also designated Mohammed Amin alias Abu Khubaib, who belongs to Jammu and Kashmir but currently lives in Pakistan, as an individual terrorist.
What is the TRF?
Born as an off-shoot of LeT, the TRF is an active militant outfit in Jammu and Kashmir that mostly functions online.
Based out of Karachi, the outfit came to being following the abrogation of Article 370 and after six months of its operations, it took to the ground.
The group came into existence in 2019 as a proxy of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was involved in numerous terror acts, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Why has the govt banned it?
According to a Union Home Ministry notification, The Resistance Front (TRF) is recruiting youth through the online medium for the furtherance of terrorist activities, recruitment of terrorists, infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir.
The outfit is involved in psychological operations on social media platforms for inciting the people of Jammu and Kashmir to join terrorist outfits against the Indian government.
The home ministry said Sheikh Sajjad Gul is a commander of The Resistance Front and has been designated as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967.
The activities of the group are detrimental to the national security and sovereignty of India. A large number of cases have also been registered against the members and associates of The Resistance Front.
Considering all its subversive activities, the home ministry declared the group a banned organisation.
Mohammed Amin alias Abu Khubaib
Separately, Khubaib is acting as the launching commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba and has developed a deep association with cross-border agencies and is playing a vital role to revive and accelerate terrorist activities of LeT in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, according to the Centre.
Khubaib has been involved in coordinating terrorist attacks, supply of arms or weapons and explosives, and terror financing in Jammu and Kashmir from across the border.
For all his terror activities, the government designated Khubaib as an individual terrorist under the UAPA, another notification said.
How active is TRF?
Since 2020, the organisation started taking responsibility of several attacks across the state instead of old outfits like LeT, Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad and so on.
Officials said that the strategy to have TRF claim all attacks was deliberate in order to deflect attention from the LeTR and other groups who were under the purview of the FATF. However, existing LeT channels are used for funding and supply of logistics for the TRF, reports the Indian Express.
(with PTI inputs)
