US designates BLA, Majeed Brigade as Foreign Terrorist Organisation
Last Updated: August 11, 2025, 23:30 IST
Representational image (Image: News18)
New York/Washington, Aug 11 (PTI) The US on Monday designated Pakistan-based Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, The Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.
BLA was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2019 following several terrorist attacks. Since then, the group has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including by the Majeed Brigade, the State Department said in a statement.
The statement said the State Department is designating BLA and its alias, The Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), and adding the Majeed Brigade as an alias to BLA's previous SDGT designation. The action, it said, 'demonstrates the Trump administration's commitment to countering 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 State Department said.
Swipe Left For Next Video View all
The department further said that in 2024, BLA claimed responsibility for suicide attacks near Karachi airport and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex.
In 2025, the group said it was behind the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train travelling from Quetta to Peshawar in March, which resulted in the deaths of 31 civilians and security personnel, and over 300 passengers being taken hostage. PTI YAS SCY SCY (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments News agency-feeds US designates BLA, Majeed Brigade as Foreign Terrorist Organisation Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Read More
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
28 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Bodies of a married man, woman found in parked car in Punjab's Hoshiarpur
A 25-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman were found dead in a car parked near a government school in Garhshankar's Satnaur village, police said on Monday. No suicide note was recovered from the spot, police said.(iStock Photo) 'Villagers spotted a black Maruti Alto parked on the outskirts of the village and got suspicious. When they went close and peeped in, they saw two bodies on the front seats. On receiving information, a police team reached the spot and took the bodies into custody,' said Gagandeep Sekhon, station house officer of Garhshankar police station. Also Read | Bengaluru class 7 boy dies by suicide; Police probe possible 'Death Note' connection: Report 'Inquiries revealed that the man and the woman had left their homes on Sunday afternoon. Both were married and had two children each,' said Jaspreet Singh, deputy superintendent of police. 'Prima facie, it appears to be a case of suicide. The bodies have been sent to the civil hospital in Garhshankar for autopsy. The cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy,' he added. Also Read | JJ Hospital paediatrics HoD transferred after harassment allegations, student suicide bid No suicide note was recovered from the spot, police said, adding that the victims' families have been informed and an investigation is underway. NOTE: Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).
Hindustan Times
28 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
NIA takes blood, hair samples of Pahalgam terror attack suspects
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken blood and hair samples from Pravaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar , the duo arrested in connection with the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, to conduct DNA analysis and ascertain if they played a larger role than just sheltering the three Pakistani terrorists who shot 26 civilians, people familiar with the matter said. Pahalgam terror suspects were killed by security forces on July 28.(HT Photo) The DNA samples, collected from the Amphalla prison in Jammu, where the two are currently lodged, are likely to be matched with the clothes and weapons recovered from three terrorists , Suleiman Shah, Hamza Afghani alias Afghan and Jibran, added the people, asking not to be identified. Also Read | Day after Pahalgam, Rajnath said 'enough is enough', forces given free hand: Army chief on Op Sindoor The three terrorists, who shot dead 25 tourists and a pony operator on April 22 at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, were killed by security forces on July 28 in Dachigam forest area. Union home minister Amit Shah confirmed in Parliament on July 29 that the terrorists were from Pakistan and belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Arrested on June 22, Parvaiz and Bashir Jothar allegedly harboured the three armed terrorists at a seasonal dhok (hut) at Hill Park before the attack, on April 21. 'The two men provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists who selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity,' the anti-terror agency said in a statement in June. 'We are trying to ascertain if they had any larger role in the Pahalgam attack other than just providing them shelter and food. Thus, their blood samples and hair follicles for DNA analysis have been taken to match with clothes, weapons and other articles recovered from Shah, Afghan and Jibran,' said one of the people cited in the first instance, an officer with NIA. 'The samples will also be useful in matching with articles recovered in previous attacks on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, to see whether these two had any role to play in sheltering or assisting other terrorists or not,' this person added. Also Read | Pahalgam to Rawalpindi via DC: Tale of a conflict NIA has so far questioned 1055 individuals in its Pahalgam probe including tourists, mule owners, pony owners, photographers, employees and shop workers, recording over 3,000 hours of testimony. A second officer familiar with the Pahalgam probe said NIA 'is currently analysing technical data retrieved from the phones and satellite phone recovered from the three terrorists, which will give more clues about the LeT handlers in Pakistan who controlled the attack'. In response to the Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7. Indian forces bombed nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in pre-dawn strikes --- in which at least 100 terrorists were killed --- and sparked a series of attacks and counter-attacks across the western border, involving fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and fierce artillery and rocket duels. In one such attack on the night of May 9-10, the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani airbases and military installations. After four days of fighting, military hostilities were stopped on May 10 after the two nations reached an understanding.
Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
Loss of face, but AAP prevents more damage by withdrawing land pooling policy
Jalandhar: Though it is a loss of face for the Aam Aadmi Party govt and the biggest U-turn so far, by withdrawing the Land Pooling Policy, the ruling party prevented more damage to itself. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now As the opposition to the policy grew bigger with every passing day, it became oxygen for the opposition parties, especially for Congress and Akali Dal, as well as for all the critics of the state govt. On Punjabi social media, the state govt and the ruling party completely lost the narrative on the issue, as even their own were not coming forward to justify it. When the state govt has been discrediting farm groups and the latter also lost space due to their own flaws and follies, after the big victory of making the Modi govt to withdraw the three farm laws, the policy made the badly divided farm groups to unite. When AAP is known for strong discipline and every leader and worker has to follow the instruction by the party's central command, yet the MLAs and constituency in-charges, in whose areas the villages were coming under the scheme, did not dare to go to the villages to explain it to the people or to post their own statements on their social media accounts. They confined themselves to sharing the posts of the party's social media accounts. No social or economic group came forward to defend the policy even as the fault lines, subtle or explicit, exist. No party worker on the ground was ready to go among the people to justify the policy, especially after two party workers suffered the ignominy of being confronted by the farmers in Jalandhar village Kot Kalan on the night of July 24, their publicity material taken away and torched. The fear only increased among party workers as there was no dearth of videos on Punjabi social media where men and women from the affected villages issued warnings of serious physical consequences if anybody entered their villages. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Hoardings were in the affected villages 'banning' entry of AAP leaders. From among the senior party leaders, only Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, State President Aman Arora, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora, and MP Meet Hayer appeared more vocal in justifying the policy, while other ministers and MLAs preferred to stay silent. More than the farmers, the withdrawal of the policy has come as a big relief for the AAP leaders and workers, especially in the rural areas. They found themselves in a piquant situation, as on one side the Delhi-based party leadership strongly pushed the policy, but on the other, the intensity of the negative reaction increased. MSID:: 123239495 413 |
