Pakistan Admits to Shielding Terror Group TRF Amid Rising Tensions with India

 Islamabad, April 30, 2025 – In a startling revelation, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, has acknowledged Islamabad’s role in protecting the Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy, The Resistance Front (TRF), by ensuring its name was removed from a UN Security Council statement condemning the recent Pahalgam terror attack. The attack, which claimed 26 civilian lives in Jammu and Kashmir, has reignited tensions between the two nations.

Speaking in the Pakistan Senate, Dar openly admitted that Islamabad pressured the United States to exclude references to TRF and Pahalgam from the UNSC statement, underscoring Pakistan’s deep ties to the terror outfit. This admission drew applause from Pakistani lawmakers, raising fresh concerns about the government’s complicity in supporting terrorism. Within hours of the UNSC statement on Friday, TRF retracted its initial claim of responsibility for the attack, attributing it to a “cyber intrusion,” while Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called for a neutral probe into the incident on Saturday.

Adding to the escalating rhetoric, Pakistan’s Minister for Information claimed credible intelligence of an impending Indian military action within the next 24 to 36 hours, though he later adjusted his statement from “military strike” to “military action” and removed the original post from X. This follows reports that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has granted the military full operational freedom to respond to the Pahalgam attack, with the armed forces contemplating a strategic retaliation.

Tensions have further intensified along the Line of Control and international border, where Pakistan has violated the ceasefire for the sixth consecutive night. Pakistani troops initiated small arms fire in the Noshera, Sundarbani, and Akhnoor sectors, as well as near Baramulla, Kupwara, and the Pargwal sector in Jammu. The Indian Army responded with measured and effective counteractions.

In an exclusive interview, former Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda emphasized the need for a calculated response. “The use of the military option has not been ruled out and is very much a possibility,” he stated, noting that India’s diplomatic measures—such as suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, canceling visas, and closing the Attari border—reflect the gravity of the situation. On Pakistan’s support for TRF, Hooda remarked, “There is absolutely no doubt in our minds that this major incident, a very deliberate provocation, cannot be planned by local groups—the fingers are pointing at Pakistan.”

With India’s capable military, bolstered by new aircraft and a dominant naval presence in the Indian Ocean, all options remain on the table. As the situation unfolds, the international community watches closely, wary of further escalation in the region.