The Indian government has designated The Resistance Front, a group believed to be a proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as a terrorist organization. The group has been operating in the Jammu and Kashmir union territory since 2019.
In an announcement late on Thursday, the government cited the group's involvement in "recruitment of terrorists, infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir," as well as its use of social media for "inciting people of Jammu and Kashmir to join terrorist outfits against the Indian State".
The government also identified Sheikh Sajjad Gul, a commander in The Resistance Front, as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, a strict law dealing with terrorism.
The organization has been linked to a number of cases involving the killing of security force personnel and civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as attacks on security forces and the smuggling of weapons to support proscribed terrorist organizations.
"The government's decision to designate The Resistance Front as a terrorist organization reflects the growing concern about the group's activities, which it says are "detrimental for the national security and sovereignty of India".
As a result of the announcement from the federal Ministry of Home Affairs, the administration now has the authority to seize and attach property, bank accounts and other assets belonging to members of The Resistance Front.
The MHA's decision comes after a recent spate of terrorist attacks in the Rajouri district of Jammu, in which six Hindu civilians were killed and more than a dozen were injured, resulting in hundreds of more Indian troops being deployed into the valley.
The administration is reportedly considering various options to tackle the activities of the banned organization and its members.