ISLAMABAD, Jul 19 (NNN-APP) – Pakistan, yesterday, rejected allegations linking a defunct banned group to a recent attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, following the United States’ designation of The Resistance Front (TRF), as a foreign terrorist organisation.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed the country’s firm commitment, to counter-terrorism, reiterating that, Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and pursues a policy of zero tolerance.
“Pakistan has been, and continues to be, a frontline state in the fight against terrorism,” the statement said, highlighting Islamabad’s contributions to global peace, including the recent arrest of Sharifullah, identified as the mastermind of the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul.
The U.S. designation came, after TRF was accused of carrying out an Apr attack in the resort town of Pahalgam, in the Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people. U.S. authorities alleged the group is an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), banned in Pakistan years ago.
Responding to the development, Pakistan said that, investigations into the Pahalgam incident remained inconclusive. It rejected the reported linkage between TRF and LeT, stating that the concerned group had been comprehensively dismantled, with its leadership prosecuted and its members rehabilitated.
The statement also criticised India for what it called, the misuse of terrorism-related designations for political purposes. “India has a record of exploiting such matters to promote anti-Pakistan propaganda, and to divert attention from its ongoing human rights violations in Indian-controlled Kashmir,” the ministry said.
Pakistan urged the international community to adopt a balanced, evidence-based approach in combating terrorism, and called for equal scrutiny of all terrorist entities. In this regard, it emphasised the need to designate the Majeed Brigade as an alias of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
Reaffirming its role as a counter-terrorism bulwark, Pakistan called for collective global efforts, to address the threat of terrorism through objective and non-discriminatory policies.– NNN-APP
