section_path: Origins
section_name: Origins
paragraph_text: Origins
  
  The Resistance Front was founded in October 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370 and the revocation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian government in August 2019. The TRF portrays itself as an indigenous Kashmiri resistance movement fighting for the freedom of Jammu and Kashmir from India, though it is generally believed to be a frontal organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Indian experts allege that the TRF was strategically created to divert attention from LeT and other militant groups under Financial Action Task Force (FATF) scrutiny, to maintain plausible deniability for attacks in India after Pakistan's inclusion on the FATF's "grey list" in 2018.
  
  The TRF has been noted for using non-religious symbolism, with logos, statements, and attack rationale all being distinct from past Islamist Kashmiri insurgents such as Hizbul Mujahideen, to project a secular image, while continuing to attack religious minorities. On 1 April 2020, the TRF gained prominence after a four-day gun battle near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara's Keran Sector, during which five Indian paracommandos and five TRF militants were killed.