US declares BLA, Majeed Brigade as terror groups

The United States officially designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). The Majeed Brigade was also added as an alias to the BLA’s previous Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) classification. The BLA was first declared an SDGT in 2019 after carrying out several terrorist attacks. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that since then, the group has claimed more attacks, including those carried out by the Majeed Brigade. He said the BLA took responsibility for suicide bombings near Karachi airport and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex in 2024. In March 2025, the group also claimed it hijacked the Jaffar Express train traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, killing 31 people, including civilians and security staff, and holding more than 300 passengers hostage.

The BLA, designated as a terrorist group by the US and Pakistan, has carried out a decades-long rebellion against the Pakistani government, demanding independence for its mineral-rich province.The move comes shortly after Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, visited Washington DC and threatened to wipe out half the world with nuclear weapons. The BLA accuses the Pakistani government of taking the province’s oil and mineral wealth while the ethnic Baloch people continue to face poverty and discrimination.