Pakistan, July 19 -- The United States has officially designated The Resistance Front (TRF) a terrorist entity; a decision that in most capitals might have prompted sober policy evaluation. In New Delhi, however, it triggered another round of political theatre. India's foreign minister quickly hailed the move as a "strong affirmation" of claims linking Pakistan to the May 2025 Pahalgam attack. While no investigation was conducted and no independent evidence made public, the charge has once again been recycled as a verdict.

For Islamabad, the designation was neither new nor surprising. TRF, as already emphasised by the Foreign Office, has been banned under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act since January 2023. More telling is the broader count...