Pakistan-China push to label BLA a terror group blocked by US, UK and France at the UN

The United Kingdom, the United States and France blocked a joint bid pushed by Pakistan and China to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Majeed Brigade as terrorist organisations under the UN1267 terror sanctions regime list.

According to a report by the Press Trust of India, the three nations put a technical hold on the petition, citing insufficient evidence to link the outfits to Al Qaeda and ISIL. As per the report, Pakistan and China had submitted a joint bid at the UN Security Council to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its suicide wing – Majeed Brigade – as a terrorist entity under the Council’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, argued on Wednesday that terrorist entities, including ISIL-K, Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, East Turkistan Islamic Movement, the BLA and its Majeed Brigade, operate from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. The Pakistani envoy noted that more than 60 terror camps are serving as hubs in Afghanistan for enabling cross-border attacks.

“Pakistan and China have jointly submitted to the 1267 Sanctions Committee a request to designate the BLA and Majeed Brigade. We hope the Council will act swiftly on this listing to curb their terrorist activities,” Ahmed said at the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s accusations against the Taliban

During the meeting, Ahmed stated that Afghan Taliban authorities must fulfil their international obligations on counter-terrorism. “Terrorism emanating from Afghanistan remains the gravest threat to Pakistan’s national security,” he said as quoted by PTI.

It is pertinent to note that Pakistan currently sits in the 15-nation Security Council as a non-permanent member for the 2025-26 term. Meanwhile, China is a permanent member of the UN body with the power of a veto.

The Majeed Brigade was formed back in 2011 and is reportedly seen as a suicide squad for the BLA. It is known for targeting security forces and Chinese interests in Pakistan. Meanwhile, BLA was previously designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the US in 2019 following several terrorist attacks.

Since then, the group has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including those conducted by the Majeed Brigade. Last month, the US designated the BLA and its Majeed Brigade as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. The US Department of State added the Majeed Brigade as an alias to BLA’s previous Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) designation.

With inputs from PTI.