New Delhi: Within days of Pakistan army chief Asim Munir’s second US trip in a month, the United States Monday formally designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a Pakistan-based separatist group, and its armed wing, the Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO).
This comes nearly a month after the US designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), “enforcing President Trump’s call for justice for the Pahalgam attack”.
The move, however, signals yet another instance of growing US-Pakistan ties, marked by Pakistan nominating Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize after a Munir-Trump luncheon at the White House, and awarding a top military honour to US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General Michael Erik Kurilla, as Pakistan positions itself as a regional conduit for US interests.
Munir even attended General Kurilla’s farewell ceremony this week at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, and issued nuclear threats to India at a dinner party hosted in his honour by former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf’s cousin Adnan Asad.
When the US government designates a group as an FTO, it triggers a series of legal and financial restrictions aimed at curbing the group’s operations. It becomes a federal crime for any person within the US or under US jurisdiction to knowingly provide the group with material support or resources. Foreign nationals affiliated with the designated group can be deemed inadmissible to the US and, in some cases, may be subject to deportation. Also, the US Treasury Department can direct American financial institutions to freeze any assets linked to the organisation and block all related transactions.
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From SDGT to FTO
The BLA, which has waged decades-long insurgency in Pakistan’s mineral-rich but restive Balochistan province, was previously blacklisted in 2019 as an SDGT group.
The new designation by the US Department of State upgrades the group’s status, and officially lists the Majeed Brigade as an alias under both FTO and SDGT sanctions.
While the 2019 SDGT designation allowed the US to freeze BLA-linked assets and block financial transactions, the FTO designation carries broader legal weight. It criminalises material support to the group, mandates visa bans, and enhances law enforcement and intelligence coordination with international partners.
The inclusion of the Majeed Brigade under both designations reflects a heightened focus by the US on the BLA’s evolving tactics and rising threat level.
In a statement, the State Department said, “BLA was designated as an SDGT in 2019 following several terrorist attacks. Since then, the group has claimed responsibility for additional and increasingly sophisticated attacks, including by the Majeed Brigade. Today’s action demonstrates 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.”
The BLA & Majeed Brigade
The Majeed Brigade, military wing of BLA, was formed after the death of Majeed Baloch Jr in 2010, a key militant commander killed by Pakistani forces. The group’s first known suicide attack occurred in December 2011 in Quetta, killing 13 people. The attacker, Darwaish Baloch, was linked to the newly formed unit.
Majeed Brigade has led the charge in targeting Chinese infrastructure projects and workers, aiming to disrupt China’s growing influence in the region and highlight the Baloch people’s longstanding socio-economic grievances.
Under the leadership of Aslam Baloch, who took control in 2018, the Majeed Brigade was revived with a new strategic direction. The Majeed Brigade carried out the first suicide bombing targeting Chinese engineers in Dalbandin district in 2018.
Following this, the BLA orchestrated a series of high-profile attacks, including the assault on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi (2018), the attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar (2019), the Pakistan Stock Exchange (2020), and the Karachi University’s Confucius Institute (2022). In response to these attacks, Pakistan had officially banned and declared Majeed Brigade as a terrorist group in July 2024.
Named after two militants—Majeed Baloch Sr, who had attempted to assassinate then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 1970s, and Majeed Baloch Jr, a 2000s-era commander—the Majeed Brigade has become the BLA’s most lethal arm, known for high-impact attacks and guerrilla warfare.
More recently, in March 2025, the group carried out one of its deadliest operations yet—the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train traveling from Quetta to Peshawar. At least 31 civilians and security personnel were killed, and over 300 passengers were held hostage before the standoff ended.
In a significant move earlier this year, three of Balochistan’s largest separatist groups—the BLA, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), and the Baloch Republican Guards—announced the formation of a unified command structure under the banner of the Balochistan National Army. The coalition, forged under the Baloch Raji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS), followed a rare three-day conclave between Baloch and Sindhi separatists.
The new alliance has pledged to adopt more sophisticated guerrilla tactics, enhance infiltration of Pakistani intelligence networks, and carry out precision strikes, particularly against targets linked to China’s growing footprint in the region.
According to the 2025 Global Terrorism Index, attacks by Baloch insurgent groups rose from 116 in 2023 to 504 in 2024. The death toll in these attacks climbed more than fourfold to 388.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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