The Resistance Front

The Resistance Front
FoundersMuhammad Abbas Sheikh †
Sheikh Sajjad Gul
Patron and Supreme Commander
Sheikh Sajjad Gul
Chief Operational Commander
Muhammad Abbas Sheikh †
(2019-22)
Basit Ahmed Dar †
(2022-24)
SpokespersonAhmed Khalid
Dates active2019–present
Active regionsJammu and Kashmir
Part ofLashkar-e-Taiba
WarsInsurgency in Jammu and Kashmir

The Resistance Front (TRF) is an Islamist militant organisation actively engaged in the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, and designated as a terrorist organization by India and the United States. The group is responsible for attacks on and killings of civilians, including those from religious minority communities such as Kashmiri Hindus, government employees, labourers and business owners, local politicians, and tourists, as well as for several attacks on Indian armed and police forces.

The organisation is believed to be an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based UN-designated terrorist group. 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, TRF uses non-religious nomenclature and symbolism to project a secular image, but has carried out targeted killings of locals from religious minority communities. The group maintains a significant social media presence, some of which Indian media traces to Pakistan.