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.

Last year, Pakistan proscribed the Majeed Brigade, which is the BLA’s dedicated suicide squad. The BLA itself was proscribed in 2006, according to the National Counter-Terrorism Authority’s list of proscribed organisations.

Pakistan has previously requested that the Majeed Brigade be listed as an international terrorist organisation. In 2019, the State Department labelled the BLA as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), making it a crime for anyone in the US to assist the militants, but did not designate the Majeed Brigade at that time.

FTO designations are made by the Secretary of State, following section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and “are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business”. SDGT designations, meanwhile, target individuals and groups under Executive Order 13224, even if they are not part of a formally recognised organisation.

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. 

“In 2024, BLA claimed it had committed suicide attacks near the airport in Karachi and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex.  In 2025, BLA claimed responsibility for the March hijacking of the Jaffar Express train travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, killing 31 civilians and security personnel and holding hostage over 300 train passengers.”  

The State Department said that the designation demonstrated US President Donald Trump’s commitment to counter-terrorism.

“Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities,” the press release stated.  “Today’s actions are taken pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, and Executive Order 13224, as amended.” 

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.

“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.”

Talking to Geo News, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry termed the development a fruit of Pakistan’s successful diplomacy and a “great win” for the country. He said the groups were “proxies” of India that were sponsored by the neighbouring country and others.

“The day is not far when their sponsors will also be on the list of terrorists. This will not only strengthen Pakistan against fighting terrorist organisations, but the stronger Pakistan is against terrorism, the safer the world will be from terrorists,” he said

Chaudhry said the development showed the world stood with Pakistan’s stance and the country in the fight against terrorism.

“We are winning this fight every day and such uplifting news and successes will quickly bring this fight to its logical end.”

The security situation in Balochistan has worsened in recent months, as militants, long involved in a low-level insurgency, have stepped up the frequency and intensity of their attacks. The outlawed BLA, in particular, has adopted new tactics to inflict higher casualties and directly target Pakistani security forces.

In April, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry accused India of activating its “assets” to inte­nsify terrorist attacks in Pakistan, presenting “irr­e­futable evidence” of Ind­ian state-sponsored terrorism, directed by the Ind­ian military personnel, particularly in Balochistan.

Last month, the Foreign Office (FO) reaffirmed Pakistan’s stance against terrorism, saying that the country has “effectively and comprehensively dismantled” terrorist outfits.

“Pakistan condemns terrorism in all forms and manifestations; zero tolerance, and international cooperation against terrorism are cornerstones of our policy,” the FO said in a statement.

The FO’s statement came in the wake of the State Department designating The Resistance Front — the little-known group responsible for the Pahalgam attack on April 22 — as an FTO and a “front and proxy” of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

The Pahalgam attack — which resulted in the deaths of 26 people — sparked a military confrontation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan as New Delhi blamed it on Islamabad, which strongly denied the allegations while calling for a neutral investigation.

The BLA’s designation comes as relations between Islamabad and Washington are improving.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir completed a visit to the US on Sunday, terming the trip — the second in just one-and-a-half months — a “new dimension” in ties between both nations.

The COAS engaged in high-level interactions with senior political and military leadership, as well as members of the Pakistani diaspora, the military’s media wing said.

He also visited the US in June on a five-day official visit, where he met with Trump over luncheon, becoming the first serving army chief to have a face-to-face meeting with a sitting US president.

Also in June, United States Central Command (Centcom) chief Army General Michael Kurilla praised Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner in the world of counter-terrorism”, citing the nation’s struggle against terrorism in Balochistan and against terrorist groups like the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K).

“Through a relationship we have with them and providing intelligence, they have captured at least five ISIS Khorasan high-value individuals,” Kurilla said.

Gen Kurilla noted that there have been 1,000 terrorist attacks in “the western area” of Pakistan since the start of 2024, noting that they “are in an active counter-terrorism fight right now”.