The Resistance Front

The Resistance Front
TRF logo
Founder	Muhammad Abbas Sheikh †[1] Sheikh Sajjad Gul[2]
Patron and Supreme Commander	Sheikh Sajjad Gul[2]
Current Chief Operational Commander	Basit Ahmed Dar †[3]
Spokesperson	Ahmed Khalid[4]
Dates of operation	2019–present
Motives	Insurgency against Indian administration of Jammu and Kashmir[5][6][7][8]
Active regions	Jammu and Kashmir
Notable attacks	2020 Keran encounter[9] 2020 Handwara encounter[10] 2021 Attack on BJP councillors meeting in Sopore[11] 2022 Sedow Shopian IED attack[12] 2023 Anantnag encounter[13] 2024 Reasi attack 2025 Pahalgam attack (claimed, later retracted)[14]
Part of	Lashkar-e-Taiba[15][16][17]
Allies	People's Anti-Fascist Front Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Al-Badr (United Liberation Front)[5]
Opponents	India
Battles and wars	Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir[18]
Designated as a terrorist group by	India

The Resistance Front (TRF) is a militant organisation actively engaged in the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, and designated as a terrorist organisation in India.^[19][20] The group is responsible for attacks on and killings of civilians, including those from religious minority communities such as Kashmiri Hindus,^[21][22][23] government employees,^[24] labourers and business owners, local politicians,^[23] and tourists,^[25] as well as for several attacks on Indian armed and police forces.^[26][27]

The organisation is believed to be an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba,^[15][16][17] a Pakistan-based UN-designated terrorist group.^[28] Formed using cadres of militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen in the aftermath of the 2019 abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir,^[21][29] TRF uses non-religious nomenclature and symbolism to project a secular image,^[30] but has carried out targeted killings of locals from religious minority communities.^[31] The group maintains a significant social media presence, some of which Indian media traces to Pakistan.^[32]