The United States (US) has formally designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its militant faction Majeed Brigade as Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), the US State Department said in a statement on Monday, chalking up a huge diplomatic victory for Pakistan. 

 

The move also adds the Majeed Brigade as an alias to the BLA’s previous listing as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group.

 

The BLA has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks, including the October 6 suicide attack on a road near Jinnah International Airport, killing three people, including two Chinese engineers, and injuring at least 11 others.

 

In March this year, the BLA claimed responsibility for the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train en route from Quetta to Peshawar, which left 31 civilians and security personnel martyred and saw more than 300 passengers taken hostage.

 

“Today’s action taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to countering terrorism.  Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities,” read the press statement.

 

It further said that the actions were taken under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, and Executive Order 13224, as amended. “FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register,” the statement concluded.

 

Islamabad has already termed BLA and Majeed Brigade ‘Fitna al-Hindustan’, saying that the insurgent groups are conducting their anti-state activities with India’s backing.

 

Balochistan Chief Minister (CM) Mir Sarfraz Bugti welcomed the move, attributing the credit to the federal government and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir, who recently traveled to the US and engaged in high-level discussions with military leaders, for communicating Pakistan’s stance against terrorism to the Trump administration.

 

“BLA and Majeed Brigade shed the blood of the innocent in the name of rights and ethnicity,” he said, stressing that the world must unite to eliminate the scourge of terrorism.