US Designates Balochistan Liberation Army and Majeed Brigade as Terror Groups

The United States has officially designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).

This designation builds on the BLA’s previous classification as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group since 2019, with the Majeed Brigade now recognized as part of the same entity. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the move, noting that since 2019, the BLA—including the Majeed Brigade—has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks. These include suicide bombings near Karachi Airport and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex in 2024.

In March 2025, the BLA hijacked the Jaffar Express train en route from Quetta to Peshawar, taking over 300 passengers hostage and resulting in 31 deaths among civilians and security forces. The US State Department stated that these violent actions continue to threaten civilian safety and regional stability. The terrorist designation allows the US government to freeze the group’s assets, criminalize support for them, and work with international partners to disrupt their activities.

The BLA has waged a long-running insurgency against the Pakistani government, demanding independence for the resource-rich province of Balochistan.

Separately, the US recently added The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations after a deadly attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam area that killed 26 people.