The designation comes as US President Donald Trump seeks closer ties with Pakistani government.<\/p>\n
The United States has upped pressure on the Pakistan-based Balochistan Liberation Army<\/a> (BLA), labelling it a \u201cforeign terrorist\u201d organisation.<\/p>\n The designation, announced by the Department of State on Monday, comes after the BLA, which is also known as the Majeed Brigade, was designated a \u201cspecially designated global terrorist\u201d (SDGT) organisation in 2019.<\/p>\n The new designation is more severe and comes as US President Donald Trump has sought increased contacts with Pakistan\u2019s government.<\/p>\n In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move \u201cdemonstrates the Trump Administration\u2019s commitment to countering terrorism\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cTerrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n The BLA was designated as an SDGT following \u202fa series of attacks<\/a> in 2019. More recently, in March this year, the secessionist group claimed responsibility for the siege of a train<\/a> travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, in which dozens of passengers and soldiers were killed.<\/p>\n The new designation makes it a crime for anyone in the US to provide support to the group, while the previous designation only targeted financial resources.<\/p>\n Balochistan is the largest but least populous and poorest province in Pakistan. The region has experienced at least five secessionist uprisings since Pakistan\u2019s formation in 1947.<\/p>\n The latest iteration began in the early 2000s, and has since broadened its focus from securing the province\u2019s natural resources to full-fledged independence.<\/p>\n Supporters of the secessionist movement have alleged that Pakistan\u2019s government has exploited the region\u2019s resources, while neglecting its population of 15 million. The province remains key to trade, housing the deep-sea ports at Gwadar, a key component in plans to link southwestern China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan.<\/p>\n Recent BLA attacks have further inflamed tensions between Pakistan and India, with Islamabad accusing New Delhi of fuelling the violence. India has denied the claims.<\/p>\n Last month, the administration of US President Donald Trump also labelled The Resistance Front<\/a> (TRF), which Rubio described as an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a \u201cforeign terrorist\u201d group following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir<\/a> in April that killed 26 people.<\/p>\n