US declares Baloch Liberation Army terrorist outfit
The US Office of Foreign Assessment Control (OFAC) added BLA in the list of banned outfits.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – The United States of America on Tuesday declared the Balochistan Liberation Army as a terrorist organization adding it to the list of banned terrorist outfits.
The US Office of Foreign Assessment Control (OFAC) added BLA in the list of banned outfits.
Al-Qaeda, militant multi-national organization, and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a terrorist organization that split away from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, were also included in the list.
The US State Department said in a statement, “The Department of State has designated the Balochistan Liberation Army and Hizbullah operative Husain Ali Hazzima as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order (EO) 13224.”
“BLA is an armed separatist group that targets security forces and civilians, mainly in ethnic Baloch areas of Pakistan. BLA has carried out several terrorist attacks in the past year, including a suicide attack in August 2018 that targeted Chinese engineers in Balochistan, a November 2018 attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, and a May 2019 attack against a luxury hotel in Gwadar, Balochistan,” alleged the State Department.
“Additionally, the Department of State has amended the terrorist designations of Jundallah to reflect the group’s new primary name Jaish al-Adl and associated aliases. These aliases have been added to the group’s designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and as an SDGT under EO 13224,” it added.
BLA has been waging an armed struggle against Pakistan since 2004. They claimed that they are fighting this war for equality and self-determination for the Balochis in the country. “Balchistan has been subjected to repression for decades,” BLA claimed.
Pakistan also declared BLA terrorist outfit in 2006 after they carried out attacks against security personnel. European Union have also designated Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) as a terrorist organisation.
