US Blocks Pakistan-China Bid to Blacklist BLA, Majeed Brigade at UN

The United States has blocked a joint Pakistan-China effort at the UN Security Council to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its suicide wing, the Majeed Brigade , as terrorist entities under the Council's 1267 Al-Qaeda/ISIL sanctions regime , despite Washington already classifying both groups as terrorist organisations.

Pakistan and China submitted the proposal in September 2025, seeking UN sanctions against the groups. The move was opposed by the US, United Kingdom and France , all permanent Security Council members, effectively preventing the listing from advancing. Reports indicate the proposal had earlier faced a technical hold from the same countries.

According to reports, Washington argued that the 1267 sanctions framework applies to entities linked to Al-Qaeda or Islamic State (ISIL) and that the evidence submitted did not sufficiently establish such connections for the BLA and Majeed Brigade.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad , recently told the Security Council that terrorist groups including ISIL-K, Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, BLA and the Majeed Brigade were operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

The development is notable because China has previously blocked India-backed proposals to designate Pakistan-based terrorists under the same UN mechanism.

The US State Department designated the BLA as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity in 2019 and later added the Majeed Brigade as an alias. Washington has cited attacks in Karachi and Gwadar, as well as the March 2025 Jaffar Express hijacking , which killed 31 people and saw more than 300 passengers taken hostage.