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The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has rejected the United States' decision to classify its unit, the Majeed Brigade, as a foreign terrorist organisation, describing the move as "detached from ground realities" and "an implicit endorsement of the colonial narrative by an international power," according to The Balochistan Post (TBP).
In a statement on Friday, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the group was neither surprised nor pressured by the designation, asserting that the BLA is "a resistance force" operating solely against the military control of "the occupying state" and committed to "the liberation of its occupied motherland." He claimed Pakistan forcibly occupied Balochistan in 1948 and said the BLA continues the resistance that began on that day. Describing the organisation as "the armed embodiment of Baloch national pride," he stressed that it does not seek "external validation or international certification." Jeeyand Baloch emphasised that the BLA follows "the rules of war" under international humanitarian law, specifically Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions, and conducts its operations in "strict compliance" with these principles, which protect civilians and recognise the rights of combatants. He noted that similar non-state resistance movements worldwide had received acknowledgement under these legal frameworks. According to him, all BLA attacks target the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, intelligence agencies, death squads, and allied armed groups in Balochistan. He denied accusations that the group targets civilians, calling such claims "state propaganda" echoed by Washington, and insisted that civilian harm is "not part of our manifesto." The group, he added, is not hostile toward the Pakistani people or any foreign nation but is solely fighting "the occupier" until the occupation ends. The statement dismissed the US designation as a reflection of "security, treaty, and geopolitical interests" rather than justice, arguing that such blacklists lack moral or legal legitimacy. Jeeyand Baloch described the move as an attempt to "criminalise a seventy-five-year-old indigenous resistance" and reaffirmed that the struggle falls within the bounds of international humanitarian law. He said that if resistance against "oppression, genocide, and slavery" is justified elsewhere, "Balochistan is no exception." He further linked the US stance to the region's rich mineral resources, accusing Pakistan of offering these to foreign corporations and turning Balochistan into a "silent economic colony." According to him, when resistance threatens such projects, it is unsurprising that it is labelled unlawful at the global level. The BLA urged the US and other world powers to recognise that "the Baloch nation and its revolutionary resistance" naturally align with states that value "justice, stability, and principled partnerships." Jeeyand Baloch concluded by pledging that the group would not abandon its "ideological, military, or revolutionary duties" and would resist any attempts, whether through propaganda, labels, or global decisions, to halt its struggle, vowing to continue until "Baloch national liberation and sovereignty" are achieved. (ANI)
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