The State Department designated Pakistan-based Balochistan Liberation Army as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, along with its military wing, the Majeed Brigade.
The BLA, labeled an SDGT in 2019, has waged a decades-long insurgency against Pakistan’s government, seeking independence for its mineral-rich region.
“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 labels, created under the Immigration and Nationality Act and a 2001 George W. Bush order, allow the U.S. to impose sanctions, immigration bans, and other penalties for national security and law enforcement.
“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.”
“We welcome the U.S. decision to designate BLA & its alias Majeed Brigade as terrorist outfits,” said Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on X. “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.”
