Pakistan and China have made a big diplomatic effort by asking the UN Security Council to officially call the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its suicide arm, the Majeed Brigade, a terrorist group. The request was sent to the Council’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee, which is in charge of putting people and entities who are related to terrorism on a list.
At a UN Security Council discussion about the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, made the announcement. He said that several terrorist groups, such as the BLA, are based in “Afghan sanctuaries,” where more than 60 terror camps let terrorists cross borders to attack. “Pakistan and China have asked for the BLA and Majeed Brigade to be designated together. Ahmed stated, “We hope the Council will act quickly on this list to stop their terrorist activities.”
Pakistan is a non-permanent member of the 15-nation Security Council for the 2025–26 term. China is a permanent member with the power to veto. Pakistan is also the vice-chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the chair of the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee. This makes it a key player in worldwide talks about fighting terrorism.
Ahmed said that terrorism from Afghanistan is still the “gravest threat” to Pakistan’s national security. He also told the Afghan Taliban government to do what they promised to do to fight terrorism.
The Majeed Brigade is the BLA’s suicide wing and has been behind a number of high-profile assaults, mostly against security personnel and Chinese interests in Pakistan. It was created in 2011. The US called the BLA and the Majeed Brigade a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) last month. The Majeed Brigade is now known as a pseudonym for the BLA’s Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) classification, which the US State Department gave them in 2019.
The State Department said that since it was first named, the BLA has taken credit for several attacks, including suicide attacks by the Majeed Brigade. These include attacks on the Gwadar Port Authority Complex and the Karachi airport in 2024. The organization also said they were responsible for an attack on the Jaffar Express train in 2025 that murdered 31 individuals and took more than 300 passengers hostage.