Ahead of Trump-Imran meet, US designates Baloch militants in Pakistan as terrorists

Washington/Islamabad: Ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan this month, America on Tuesday designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a terrorist organisation.

According to News 18 report, the group has carried out a number of terror attacks in Balochistan. Pakistan has already classified the outfit as a terrorist organisation and has been urging the US to do the same.

In its statement, the State Department said: “The BLA is an armed separatist group that targets security forces and civilians, mainly in ethnic Baloch areas of Pakistan.” The department made it a crime for anyone in the US to assist the BLA militants and freezing any US assets they may have.

Pakistan welcomed the move, and said it hoped that the action would ensure that the BLA’s space to operate is minimised.

“It is important that the perpetrators, organisers, financers and external sponsors including those glorifying these acts of terror against Pakistan are held accountable and brought to justice," the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement in Islamabad.