China Warns Pakistan on Terror Support as US Blacklists TRF After Pahalgam Attack

On Friday, China has urged regional countries, including Pakistan, to step up counter-terrorism cooperation to safeguard regional security after the United States designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation for its involvement in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. 

“China firmly opposes all forms of terrorism and strongly condemns the terrorist attack that occurred on April 22,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing in Beijing on Friday when asked about the US State Department’s announcement on TRF.

“China calls on regional countries to enhance counterterrorism cooperation and jointly maintain regional security and stability,” Lin added.

US Designates TRF as Terror Group Linked to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the designation of TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

The US move is expected to resonate within the UN Security Council, particularly in the 1267 Committee, a key counter-terrorism body that designates terrorist entities and individuals. The committee’s sanctions regime includes asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes on several Pakistani groups and individuals, including LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), along with figures such as Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.

India, Pakistan Agree to End Hostilities After Operation Sindoor

Following the Pahalgam attack, in which 26 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, the UN Security Council issued a statement condemning the attack on April 25. However, mentions of TRF and LeT were reportedly removed from the statement after objections from Pakistan and China.

Pakistan’s daily Dawn noted that the US State Department’s statement appeared to echo India’s stance, which has maintained that TRF, a newly formed and little-known group, was a “front and proxy” of the banned LeT.

The TRF initially claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack but later retracted the claim as tensions escalated between India and Pakistan.

In retaliation for the attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The conflict lasted for four days, marked by intense cross-border drone and missile strikes, before India and Pakistan reached an understanding to end hostilities on May 10.

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