Quetta [Pakistan], August 13 : Just a day after the US Department of State designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), the Pakistan Armed Forces stated that it had killed at least 50 militants over four days in the Zhob district of Balochistan, the Dawn reported.
According to the Dawn, citing a statement issued by the Pakistani military's public relations wing, ISPR, on Tuesday, the individuals termed as "terrorists" were killed as they were attempting to cross over from Afghanistan to the region, which had long struggled for autonomy and freedom from Islamabad's control.
Between August 7 and August 9, 47 militants were gunned down in the remote Sambaza area in the district, with Pakistani authorities later claiming three more were killed in a so-called "sanitisation operation" on the night of August 10 and August 11, with arms and ammunition also recovered from their possession, the Dawn reported.
The ISPR referred to the slain as "khawarij", a term used to describe members of banned militant groups like Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Meanwhile, in Balochistan's Washuk district near the Iran border, nine Pakistani soldiers, including an officer, were killed in an ambush on Monday night, with six others getting injured in the intense exchange of fire, the Dawn reported.
Earlier on Monday (US local time), the US Department of State designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), adding that the Majeed Brigade is an alias of the BLA's previous Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) designation.
The BLA was previously designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2019 after carrying out several terrorist attacks. Since 2019, BLA has claimed responsibility for additional attacks, including by the Majeed Brigade.
According to the statement, in 2024, BLA claimed it had committed suicide attacks near the airport in Karachi and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex.
In 2025, BLA claimed responsibility for the March hijacking of the Jaffar Express train travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, killing 31 civilians and security personnel and holding hostage over 300 train passengers, the statement added.
Further, the US State Department stated that "Today's action taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump Administration's commitment to countering terrorism."
"Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities," the statement added.
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