WASHINGTON – The USA designated the militant Baloch Liberation Army as a terror organisation on Tuesday, blaming it for attacks on Chinese assets.
“The Department of State has designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Hizballah operative Husain Ali Hazzima as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224,” according to a State Department notification issued on Tuesday.
“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,” the State Department said.
Pakistan welcomed the decision of Trump administration as the group had claimed responsibility for multiple attacks across the country.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said BLA remains a proscribed entity in Pakistan since 2006 and in recent times has carried out several terrorist attacks in the country.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/bla-claims-responsibility-for-balochistan-suicide-bombing/
The latest development means all of BLA’s assets would be seized and funds would be put on hold; the decision comes weeks ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Washington.
Additionally, the Department of State has amended the terrorist designations of Jundallah to reflect the group’s new primary name Jaysh al-Adl and associated aliases.
“Jundallah, which was designated as an FTO and SDGT in 2010, began using the new name Jaysh al-Adl and associated aliases in 2012. Since its inception, the group has engaged in numerous attacks that have killed scores of Iranian civilians and government officials, including a February 2019 suicide bombing and the October 2018 kidnapping of Iranian security personnel,” said a statement issued by the state department.
