The attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 people and sparked outrage, was initially claimed by The Resistance Front.
The United States has designated the group The Resistance Front (TRF) a “foreign terrorist organisation” following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people in April.
In a statement on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that TRF is an offshoot of the group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and has taken credit for the attack in the resort town of Pahalgam, as well as several assaults on Indian security forces.
Rubio also touted the sanctions as evidence of President Donald Trump’s firm approach to foreign policy.
“These actions taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to protecting our national security interests, countering terrorism, and enforcing President Trump’s call for justice for the Pahalgam attack,” the State Department said in a statement.
TRF initially claimed responsibility for the bloody attack in Pahalgam but reversed course several days later and denied involvement.
The nationalist government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi quickly seized on the attack, blaming neighbouring Pakistan for the massacre and accusing it of supporting militant groups that carry out attacks on Indian security forces and civilians.
Several members of LeT carried out a multiday attack in Mumbai in 2008 that killed more than 160 people and injured hundreds more. In his statement, Rubio called the Pahalgam attack, in which militants targeted a popular tourist destination in Kashmir, “the deadliest attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks conducted by LeT”.
While Pakistan is widely considered to have supported such groups as a form of undermining India, the latter’s harsh military rule and record of human rights abuses in Kashmir have long been sources of discontent and sometimes violent resistance in the territory.
Hindu nationalists have sought greater control over Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority province under Indian rule.
After the Pahalgam attack in April, India and Pakistan exchanged a series of blows before agreeing to a truce that President Trump claimed credit for helping to broker, though India has denied US mediation.
