OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
4:31 PM – Monday, August 11, 2025
The U.S. State Department has officially designated the Pakistan-based Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its military wing, the Majeed Brigade, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).
“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,” the announcement stated.
The news was first shared on Monday via a press briefing from the State Department and 72nd Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Balochistan Liberation Army had previously been designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group in 2019 after multiple terror attacks. Rubio elaborates on these events in the news release:
“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 traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, killing 31 civilians and security personnel and holding hostage over 300 train passengers,” the statement read.
The Majeed Brigade is now also considered by the State Department as an SDGT, according to the announcement.
“Today’s action taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to countering terrorism,” Rubio stated. “Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities.”
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti came out in support of the new designations in a post on X.
“We welcome the U.S. 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 U.S. administration. These groups have long shed innocent blood under the false cover of ethnicity & rights. Terrorism is terrorism, no cause justifies killing civilians. The world must unite to end this menace,” Bugti said.
Meanwhile, in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday, Field Marshal Asim Munir issued forceful warnings against India during his visit to the U.S., threatening a catastrophic conflict if India escalates tensions or makes any other “mistake.”
“We are a nuclear nation; if we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us,” Munir said, according to Indian news outlet ThePrint.
Munir also vowed to destroy any dam that India builds on the Indus River “with 10 missiles,” referencing India’s plans to construct dams that Pakistan argues threaten its water security.
According to Pakistan’s ARY News, Munir expressed that India is still adamant on creating instability in the region, while also emphasizing that “Pakistan has made it clear that any Indian aggression will be met with a befitting reply.”
In response to Munir’s threats, a statement by an official spokesperson from India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated that “these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country. India has already made it clear that it will not give in to nuclear blackmail. We will continue to take all steps necessary to safeguard our national security.”
Sukhdeo Bhagat, who currently serves as a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Lohardaga constituency in the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of Parliament, made a statement online soon after, saying: “India knows its power, its limitations, and how to respond. The way he [Asim Munir] is making all these statements while in America also threatens Trump. Speaking such violent words, and with Trump currently trying to portray himself as a peace messenger, raises the question of what Trump will say. Therefore, Trump should consider these things. India does not need to worry about them.”
President Donald Trump helped negotiate a ceasefire between the two nations in May, during the Kashmir conflict.
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