On 11 August 2025, the U.S. Department of State designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), and added the Majeed Brigade as an alias to BLA’s previous Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) designation.[1] It is important to recall that the BLA was previously designated as an SDGT by the U.S. State Department in 2019.[2] However, the latest designation has come at a very critical time, as both the Majeed Brigade and the BLA have been actively targeting civilians and law enforcement agencies in Pakistan. Among others, they were also responsible for the attack on the Jaffar Express train traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, which killed 31 civilians and security personnel and left more than 300 passengers hostage, among many other attacks against Pakistan’s security forces and civilians. Notably, this FTO designation comes at a time when the U.S. and Pakistan are further deepening counterterrorism (CT) cooperation, while Pakistan has consistently highlighted Indian involvement in Balochistan at various multilateral forums.[3]
