The State Department on Monday listed a Pakistan-based group responsible for attacks, including suicide bombings, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The Balochistan Liberation Army is the strongest of a number of insurgent groups operating along an area bordering Afghanistan and Iran and has been engaged in a decadeslong fight against Pakistan's government, seeking independence for its mineral-rich region.
The BLA, which was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group in 2019 in President Donald Trump's first term, was designated an FTO on Monday by the State Department. Its military wing, the Majeed Brigade, was added as an SDGT organization.
"Today's action taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump Administration's commitment to countering terrorism," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a news release. "Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities."
The FTO and SDGT designations are among several terrorism-related lists that the U.S. government maintains under Section 2019 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and a 2001 executive order by President George W. Bush to impose financial sanctions, immigration restrictions, or other criminal penalties in pursuit of law enforcement and national security goals.
"BLA was designated as an SDGT in 2019 following several terrorist attacks," Rubio said. "Since 2019, BLA has claimed responsibility for additional attacks, including by the Majeed Brigade. In 2024, BLA claimed it had committed suicide attacks near the airport in Karachi and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex. In 2025, BLA claimed responsibility for the March hijacking of the Jaffar Express train traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, killing 31 civilians and security personnel and holding hostage over 300 train passengers."
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti welcomed the State Department's action, postin on X, "We welcome the U.S. 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 U.S. administration. These groups have long shed innocent blood under the false cover of ethnicity & rights. Terrorism is terrorism, no cause justifies killing civilians. The world must unite to end this menace."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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