US designates BLA, Majeed Brigade as foreign terrorist organisations

Washington: The US State Department on Monday added the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, to its Foreign Terrorist Organisation list, according to a press release.

According to today’s press release, the Department added the BLA to the FTO list, while adding the Majeed Brigade as an alias to the BLA’s previous SDGT designation.

“BLA was designated as an SDGT in 2019 following several terrorist attacks.  Since 2019, BLA has claimed responsibility for additional attacks, including by the Majeed Brigade,” the press release read. 

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti welcomed the State Department’s designation in a post on X, lauding the federal government and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir for presenting Islamabad’s case to Washington.

In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “Today, the Department of State is designating The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, The Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), and adding the Majeed Brigade as an alias to BLA’s previous Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) designation.  “

BLA, he said, was designated as an SDGT in 2019, pointing out that since then, it has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including by the Majeed Brigade.

In 2024, Secretary Rubio noted that BLA claimed it had committed suicide attacks near the airport in Karachi and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex.  In 2025, he added, 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.

“Today’s action taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to countering terrorism,” the top US diplomat said.

“Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities.  “

He added, ” Today’s actions are taken pursuant to 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. “

We welcome the US decision to designate BLA & its alias Majeed Brigade as terrorist outfits. Credit to the Federal Government & Field Marshal Asim Munir for presenting Pakistan’s case to the US administration. These groups have long shed innocent blood under the false cover of… https://t.co/Udd3wGIUY0

— Sarfraz Bugti (@PakSarfrazbugti) August 11, 2025

“We welcome the US decision to designate BLA and its alias Majeed Brigade as terrorist outfits,” Bugti wrote. “These groups have long shed innocent blood under the false cover of ethnicity and rights.

“Terrorism is terrorism; no cause justifies killing civilians. The world must unite to end this menace.”