KARACHI: The United States (US) is designating the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group active in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, as a “foreign terrorist organization,” the State Department said on Monday.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but most impoverished province, has been the site of a long-running insurgency that has intensified in recent months, with separatist militants attacking security forces, government officials and installations and people from other provinces.
The BLA, which also uses the alias of ‘The Majeed Brigade,’ is the most prominent of separatist groups in Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and is home to key China-led infrastructure projects, including a port and a gold-copper mine.
In March, the group claimed responsibility for the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, killing 31 civilians and security personnel and holding hostage over 300 train passengers. In 2024, it claimed suicide attacks on Chinese nationals in Karachi and Gwadar.
“Today’s action taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to countering terrorism,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio was quoted as saying by the State Department.
