New J&K terror outfit run by LET brass: Intel

nNEWDELHI::THE Resistance Front (TRF), a new terror group that has taken responsibility for major attacks and gunfights in Jammu & Kashmir over the past few weeks, is controlled by three top handlers of the Lashkar-etaiba (LET) in Pakistan, according to an intelligence report submitted to national security planners in New Delhi.

The idea behind TRF is to give terror in Kashmir an indigenous face, while also warding off international pressure on Pakistan, particularly from anti-terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that is keeping a close watch on Islamabad’s activities, the report added.

Security officials aware of the matter said that TRF was launched late last year after Parliament nullified Jammu & Kashmir’s special status on August 5, and divided the state into two centrally administered Union territories — Ladakh and

The idea behind The Resistance Front (TRF) is to give terror in Kashmir an indigenous face, while also warding off international pressure on Pakistan particularly from global watchdog FATF, according to the intelligence report

Three top handlers of the Lashkar-e-taiba (LET) in Pakistan — Sajad Jatt for South Kashmir, Khalid for Central Kashmir and Hanzala Adnan for North Kashmir — formed the core of the group, according to the report

It claimed responsibility after five terrorists and five army soldiers were killed in the Keran sector in early April. It also claimed responsibility for gunfight in Handwara over the weekend that killed five security men

THE NAME GAME Security officials say the names of the new groups reflect an attempt by Pak’s ISI to put an India label on terror activities. Names such as The Resistance Front or JK Pir Panjal Peace Forum don’t have a religious label, but suggest that they are India-bred

Jammu & Kashmir.

Attempts to put an India label on terror activities, one of the security officials cited above said, are reflected in the names Pakistani’s spy agency Inter Services

Intelligence (ISI) has picked for new groups -- such as TRF or the low-key JK Pir Panjal Peace Forum. These names don’t have a religious label, but sug