US Blocks Pakistan-China Bid At UN to Designate BLA, Majeed Brigade As Terrorist Entities

The United States has blocked a joint Pakistan-China attempt at the United Nations Security Council to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its Majeed Brigade faction as terrorist entities under the UN sanctions regime, despite Washington already listing the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, according to PTI.

The blockage marks a setback for Islamabad and Beijing’s efforts to secure UN sanctions against the BLA and the Majeed Brigade through the Security Council’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee. Pakistan and China submitted the proposal in September last year, but it was blocked this month by the US, France and the UK, all permanent, veto-wielding members of the Council, PTI reported.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, had urged the Security Council to act against the groups while raising concerns about militant activity emanating from Afghanistan.

“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 had said at a Security Council meeting.

Ahmed also told the Council that terrorist entities, including ISIL-K, Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, the BLA and the Majeed Brigade, operate from Afghan sanctuaries, with more than 60 terrorist camps serving as hubs for enabling cross-border infiltration and attacks.

Pakistan is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the 15-nation Security Council for the 2025-26 term, while China is one of the Council’s five permanent members with veto powers. Pakistan was also the chair of the UN Security Council’s 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee in 2025 and vice-chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.

The development comes against the backdrop of earlier instances in which China placed holds on proposals submitted by India and its partners, including the US, to designate Pakistan-based terrorists and terror entities under the Council’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee regime, according to PTI.

The United States has, however, already designated the Balochistan Liberation Army and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. The US State Department added the Majeed Brigade as an alias to the BLA’s previous Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) designation.

The State Department had said the action “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”.

Washington designated the BLA as an SDGT in 2019 following several terrorist attacks. Since 2019, the BLA has claimed responsibility for additional attacks, including attacks carried out by the Majeed Brigade, PTI reported.

According to PTI, the State Department said the BLA claimed responsibility for suicide attacks in 2024 near Karachi airport and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex. In 2025, the organisation also claimed responsibility for the March hijacking of the Jaffar Express train travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, in which 31 civilians and security personnel were killed and more than 300 passengers were taken hostage.

(With inputs from PTI)