Pakistan welcomes US designation of BLA as terrorist outfit

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has welcomed the designation of the Balochistan Liberation Army by the United States as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

In a statement today, Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said that BLA remains a proscribed entity in Pakistan since 2006 and in recent times has carried out several terrorist attacks in the country.

He said it is important that the perpetrators, organizers, financers and external sponsors including those glorifying these acts of terror against Pakistan are held accountable and brought to justice.

The US Department of State designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Hizballah operative Husain Ali Hazzima as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.

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.

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