The United States is facing fresh questions over its counterterrorism posture in South Asia after blocking a Pakistan-China move at the United Nations Security Council to blacklist the Baloch Liberation Army and its Majeed Brigade, even though Washington has already designated the group under its own domestic terrorism laws.
The debate has been sharpened by a recent article in an international current-affairs magazine, which argued that Washington’s position at the UN appears difficult to reconcile with its own sanctions record against the BLA and Majeed Brigade.
Earlier this month, the US, along with France and the United Kingdom, blocked a joint proposal by Islamabad and Beijing to list the BLA and Majeed Brigade as global terrorist entities under the Security Council’s 1267 sanctions regime. Pakistan had argued that both groups operate from sanctuaries in Afghanistan and pose a direct threat to regional security.
The objection from the three permanent members rested on procedure. Western diplomats maintained that the 1267 committee targets Al Qaeda, Islamic State and their affiliates, and that localised militant groups do not automatically qualify for designation unless a clear link to those networks is established.
Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, explicitly linked the BLA and Majeed Brigade to the wider terrorist infrastructure operating out of Afghanistan.
“Entities such as ISIL-K, al-Qaida, Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan, East Turkistan Islamic Movement, BLA, and the Majeed Brigade are based in Afghan sanctuaries, with over 60 terrorist camps facilitating cross-border infiltration and assaults,” he told the UN.
That argument lies at the heart of Pakistan’s renewed push that the BLA is no longer simply a domestic insurgent outfit, but part of a broader cross-border security problem rooted in Afghan sanctuaries, transnational financing channels and external facilitation.
The blocked proposal is also seen in Islamabad as a test of Washington’s policy consistency. The US designated the BLA as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in July 2019. In August 2025, the State Department went further, designating the BLA and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.
At the time, the State Department said the move demonstrated Washington’s commitment to countering terrorism and described terrorist designations as a critical tool to curtail support for terrorist activities.
This has created the central question now being asked in Pakistani security and diplomatic circles: if the BLA is dangerous enough to face sanctions under US law, why should it not be brought under a binding global sanctions regime at the United Nations?
A UN listing would go beyond American domestic restrictions. It would legally bind all member states to freeze the group’s assets, restrict travel by designated individuals and prevent the supply of weapons, military aid and technical assistance. Pakistani officials believe such measures could help choke off funding from diaspora networks, sympathetic sources and cross-border channels that are difficult to contain through unilateral action alone.
The listing would also increase pressure on neighbouring states accused by Pakistan of tolerating or failing to dismantle militant safe havens. Islamabad has repeatedly argued that groups attacking Pakistan continue to benefit from operational space in Afghanistan, where the security vacuum has allowed several militant networks to survive, regroup and coordinate.
China’s support for the proposal is rooted in its own security concerns. Beijing has major infrastructure and mineral investments in Balochistan and views the BLA as a direct threat to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Chinese workers and wider Belt and Road interests. The group has repeatedly targeted CPEC-linked infrastructure, Chinese nationals, Pakistani security personnel and civilian targets.
But the concern is not limited to China. Washington has also shown interest in Pakistan’s resource-rich Balochistan, including oil, gas and critical mineral potential. Analysts argue that if militant networks are not globally constrained, future American investments and personnel could also become vulnerable.
The issue also touches Pakistan-US counterterrorism cooperation. American policy in South Asia still depends on intelligence-sharing with Pakistan on threats such as ISIL-K, Al Qaeda remnants, TTP networks and other militant groups operating from Afghanistan. Blocking the BLA designation, Pakistani officials fear, could reduce incentives for cooperation at a time when militant threats remain fluid and overlapping.