Pakistan's Terror Playbook in Kashmir: TRF Out, TTK In

Islamabad is positioning TTK as its newest proxy.

- ASHISH SINGH

In the volatile region of Jammu and Kashmir, where peace and terror walk a thin line, Pakistani terror outfits are shifting gears once again. With the US recently banning Pakistan-sponsored terror outfit, The Resistance Front (TRF), Islamabad has found itself scrambling for a new face for its terror operations. That's where Tehreek-e-Taliban Kashmir (TTK), a newer entity comes into play, raising the spectre of escalated tensions in the region.

Intelligence reports indicate that TTK, an emergent Pakistan-backed terror group, has been rapidly groomed to replace the TRF, recently blacklisted by the US as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity. This move follows a significant move in July 2025, when the US Department of State identified TRF, a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as directly responsible for the April 22, 2025, terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The attack, termed as the deadliest strike against civilians in recent years left 26 people dead.