New Delhi: Investigators tracking the April Pahalgam terror strike have uncovered a web of overseas funding that allegedly fuelled The Resistance Front (TRF), the Pakistan-backed outfit which owned up to the carnage that killed 26 tourists.
According to officials, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other security bodies have pieced together digital and financial evidence pointing to money transfers routed not only from Pakistan but also through channels in Malaysia and Gulf nations. These transactions, investigators believe, kept the TRF’s local network alive by financing recruitment, logistics and weapons supply.
Indian intelligence has long maintained that TRF is nothing more than a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), created to give Islamabad deniability. The Pahalgam attack, described by New Delhi as “cross-border terrorism scripted in Pakistan,” has reinforced those claims.
Recent reports suggest that payments and encrypted communication between operatives traced back to multiple foreign jurisdictions. While officials have avoided naming individual suspects, they confirmed that formal requests for international cooperation have already been moved to partner countries.
The revelations come close on the heels of Washington’s decision to list TRF as a global terror organisation in July — a move that India welcomed as a major diplomatic victory. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) too, in its summit declaration, condemned the Pahalgam killings and demanded that “sponsors of terrorism” face justice.
Meanwhile, security forces have intensified counter-terror drives in Jammu & Kashmir under “Operation Sindoor,” aimed at dismantling TRF’s sleeper cells and choking its money pipeline. Agencies are also tightening surveillance on hawala networks and cross-border communication channels believed to be used by handlers.
Beyond the security domain, the attack has dealt a serious blow to Kashmir’s tourism industry. With travellers cancelling trips and local businesses hit hard, community leaders are urging the government to restore confidence through visible protection measures and swift justice.
Officials stress that following the money is now the most crucial step — not only to nail down the masterminds of Pahalgam but also to cripple the broader terror-financing architecture that keeps such outfits afloat.
