After US labels TRF as global terror outfit, China calls for stronger regional anti-terror cooperation

China on Friday called on regional countries to enhance counter terrorism cooperation to safeguard regional security, in a guarded reaction to the US designating The Resistance Front, a proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), as a foreign terrorist organisation for its involvement in the 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 here on Friday when asked about the US State Department's statement designating TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.

"China calls on regional countries to enhance counterterrorism cooperation and jointly maintain regional security and stability," he said.


In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier said the Department of State is designating the TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

The US designation of TRF was expected to have its echo in the UN Security Council, especially the 1267 Committee of the UNSC, an important counter terrorism mechanism that designates terrorists and their organisations.

Several Pakistani terrorist groups and individuals are listed under the UN Security Council's 1267 sanctions regime, which imposes asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes. These include LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), along with key figures like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.

After the Pahalgam attack, the UNSC issued a strong statement on April 25 condemning the attack, but references to TRF and LeT were reportedly dropped from the statement following objections from Pakistan and China.

Highlighting the importance of the US designation of TRF as a terrorist group, Pakistan's daily Dawn said in its report that Thursday's statement from the State Department seemed to echo India's viewpoint, which has claimed that the little-known newly-formed group was actually a "front and proxy" of the banned LeT.

Twenty-six people were killed in the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The TRF claimed responsibility for the attack, but later backtracked as tensions soared between India and Pakistan.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.