The United States has designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTO), the State Department issued a statement on its website on Monday.
The statement further said that the Majeed Brigade has also been added as an alias to BLA’s previous Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) listing, which makes it a crime in the US to provide support to the groups.
BLA was first designated as an SDGT in 2019 following multiple terrorist attacks. Since then, the group has claimed responsibility for further violent incidents, including attacks carried out by the Majeed Brigade, the statement added.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that today’s action underlines the Trump administration’s commitment to countering terrorism. “Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities,” Rubio said.
In July, Pakistan urged the international community to adopt objective and non-discriminatory policies to address the global menace of terrorism through collective efforts, while calling for the inclusion of terrorist organisations such as the Majeed Brigade, as an alias of BLA, in international terrorist lists.
The new step comes as President Donald Trump increases contact with Pakistan, which was kept at arm’s length by his predecessor Joe Biden, whose administration resented Islamabad’s role in the two-decade war in Afghanistan.
In 2024, BLA claimed responsibility for suicide attacks near Karachi airport and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex. In March 2025, the group claimed it hijacked the Jaffar Express train travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, killing 31 civilians and security personnel and taking more than 300 passengers hostage.
The Trump administration last month also designated as terrorists a shadowy group blamed for an April attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. An accusation Islamabad categorically denied.
We welcome the US decision to designate BLA & its alias Majeed Brigade as terrorist outfits. Credit to the Federal Government & Field Marshal Asim Munir for presenting Pakistan’s case to the US administration. These groups have long shed innocent blood under the false cover of… https://t.co/Udd3wGIUY0
— Sarfraz Bugti (@PakSarfrazbugti) August 11, 2025
Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti welcomed the US’ decision to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, as terrorist organisations. He credited the federal government and Field Marshal Asim Munir for effectively presenting Pakistan’s case to the Trump administration.
“These groups have long shed innocent blood under the false cover of ethnicity and rights,” the CM said. “Terrorism is terrorism; no cause justifies killing civilians. The world must unite to end this menace,” he added.
