The United States on Monday designated Pakistan’s separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its affiliate, the Majid Brigade, as foreign terrorist organizations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Washington had already labeled the BLA a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” group in 2019. The latest move came shortly after Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, made his second visit to the U.S. in two months. The BLA has carried out frequent attacks on Pakistani security forces. In one of the most high-profile incidents in recent years, the group seized the Quetta–Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express in March, taking control of the train carrying more than 400 passengers, including army personnel. The Pakistani military later retook the train, but 21 civilians, four soldiers, and 33 insurgents were killed. The State Department said the BLA and the Majid Brigade have claimed responsibility for multiple attacks since 2019, including suicide bombings near Karachi airport and Gwadar port in 2024, as well as the March train hijacking that left 31 people dead. The move follows a recent U.S. designation of Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF), which carried out killings in Pahalgam. It also comes amid diplomatic tensions between Washington and New Delhi over U.S. calls to mediate in India-Pakistan ceasefire talks — a proposal rejected by India but endorsed by Pakistan, which even suggested nominating then-President Donald Trump for a Nobel Prize. The BLA continues to wage an insurgency across Balochistan province. Last Tuesday night, militants killed a Pakistani army major and two soldiers in Noshki district. In May, a BLA attack left 14 soldiers dead. The recent escalation has heightened concerns in Islamabad and among Pakistan’s military leadership.