UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan and China have jointly moved a proposal at the UN Security Council (UNSC) to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its suicide wing, the Majeed Brigade, as terrorist entities under the Council’s 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, told the Council on Wednesday that groups such as ISIL-K, Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), East Turkistan Islamic Movement, along with the BLA and its Majeed Brigade, continue to operate from Afghan soil, running more than 60 terror camps used for cross-border attacks.
“Pakistan and China have submitted a joint request to designate the BLA and its Majeed Brigade. We expect the Council to act swiftly to curb their terrorist activities,” Ahmed said during a UNSC session on Afghanistan.
Pakistan currently serves as a non-permanent member of the 15-nation body for the 2025–26 term, while China is a permanent member with veto power. Pakistan also chairs the Council’s 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee and serves as vice-chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.
Ahmed stressed that the Afghan Taliban must uphold their international counter-terrorism obligations, calling terrorism emanating from Afghanistan “the gravest threat to Pakistan’s national security.”
The Majeed Brigade, established in 2011, functions as the BLA’s suicide squad, targeting primarily Pakistani security forces and Chinese interests.
The United States last month listed the BLA and its Majeed Brigade as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), adding the latter as an alias to BLA’s existing Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) status first imposed in 2019. Washington noted that the move underscored its “commitment to countering terrorism.”
Since its 2019 designation, the BLA has claimed multiple attacks, including by the Majeed Brigade. In 2024, the group said it carried out suicide bombings near Karachi airport and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex. In March 2025, it claimed responsibility for the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train from Quetta to Peshawar, which killed 31 people, including security personnel, and left more than 300 passengers briefly held hostage.
