ISLAMABAD — America has designated a Baloch separatist group as a international terrorist group, the State Division stated, a transfer hailed Tuesday by Pakistani officers.
The designation of the Balochistan Liberation Army and its preventing wing, the Majeed Brigade, blamed for lethal assaults in insurgency-hit Balochistan province, coincides with the go to of Pakistan’s military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, to the U.S.
It additionally comes lower than two weeks after Washington and Islamabad reached a trade agreement anticipated to permit American companies to assist develop Pakistan’s largely untapped oil reserves in resource-rich Balochistan and to decrease commerce tariffs for Islamabad.
In a press release, the State Division stated it’s “designating the Balochistan Liberation Military (BLA) and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, as a International Terrorist Group (FTO), and including the Majeed Brigade as an alias to BLA’s earlier Specifically Designated World Terrorist (SDGT) designation.”
The BLA was first designated an SDGT in 2019 after a number of terrorist assaults. The U.S. assertion stated that, since then, each the group and the Majeed Brigade have claimed duty for extra assaults.
It additionally stated that in 2024, the BLA claimed duty for suicide bombings close to the airport in Karachi and within the port metropolis of Gwadar in Balochistan.
In 2025, the group stated it carried out the hijacking of the Jaffar Categorical prepare touring from Quetta to Peshawar, killing 31 civilians and safety personnel and holding greater than 300 passengers hostage, in keeping with the U.S. State Division.
“At this time’s motion taken by the Division of State demonstrates the Trump administration’s dedication to countering terrorism,” the U.S. assertion stated.
There was no rapid remark from Balochistan nationalists and separatist teams. Balochistan has lengthy been the scene of insurgency, principally blamed on teams together with the important thing outlawed Baloch Liberation Military, which the U.S. designated a terrorist group in 2019. The province can also be residence to militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban.
Separatists in Balochistan have opposed the extraction of assets by Pakistani and international companies and have focused Pakistani safety forces and Chinese language nationals engaged on multibillion-dollar tasks associated to the China-Pakistan Financial Hall.