'Bridging the gap': Shashi Tharoor welcomes US' move on TRF; slams Pakistan's safe haven policy

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday welcomed the United States' move to designate The Resistance Front (TRF) -- a Pakistan-backed proxy of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba -- as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

In a post on X, Tharoor called the designation a step that would "add pressure on Pakistan to curb its activities and bring it to heel," following the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 people were killed. The TRF had claimed responsibility for the attack.

1/3 I welcome the US @StateDept’s designation of TheResistanceFront, the Lashkar proxy that claimed credit for #Pahelgam, as a terrorist organisation, adding pressure on Pakistan to curb its activities& bring it to heel. https://t.co/VlP6ZOHbQe

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 19, 2025

Sharing details of his recent meetings in Washington, Tharoor said that during private conversations, he had directly questioned US officials on why Pakistan continued to enjoy impunity despite sheltering terror groups.

He wrote: "In my private conversations in Washington, when I asked people bluntly why the US were still allowing Pakistan to get away with providing a safe haven to terrorist organisations, I was pointed to Pakistan’s alleged cooperation with the US on counter-terror operations, notably the recent surrender of the individual allegedly responsible for the Abbey Gate bombing that had killed 23 US marines at Kabul airport."

2/3 In my private conversations in Washington, when I asked people bluntly why the US were still allowing Pakistan to get away with providing a safe haven to terrorist organisations, I was pointed to Pakistan’s alleged cooperation with the US on counter-terror operations, notably…

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 19, 2025

"Our scepticism about the quality and sincerity of Pakistani actions against terrorism reflects our own experience with those terror agencies that are directed against us, rather than those that the US deems hostile, such as ISIS–Khorasan," Tharoor said in his post.

3/3 Our scepticism about the quality & sincerity of Pakistani actions against terrorism reflects our own experience with those terror agencies that are directed against us, rather than those that the US deems hostile, such as ISIS–Khorasan. This is a step towards bridging the gap…

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 19, 2025

He added, "This is a step towards bridging the gap in perceptions between the US and us on this. It will help in our efforts to list TRF as well."

The US state department, in its statement issued by secretary of state Marco Rubio, confirmed the designation of TRF and noted its direct involvement in several attacks against India, including the Pahalgam massacre.

The announcement emphasised the Trump administration’s commitment to "protecting US national security, countering terrorism, and enforcing President Trump’s call for justice following the Pahalgam attack."

Following the massacre, India launched a targeted counterterror military operation across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. As part of its international outreach under " Operation Sindoor ," the PM Modi-led government selected Shashi Tharoor to lead a delegation to the United States and other contries in Americas, reflecting a bipartisan approach to counterterror diplomacy.