Pakistan and China recently tabled a joint resolution at the United Nations Security Council’s 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee, seeking to designate the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and its Majeed Brigade, which is engaged in the struggle for Baloch independence, as “terrorist organisations.” However, the proposal was blocked by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The resolution was rejected on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence linking the BLA and the Majeed Brigade with Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.
For years, China and Pakistan have been attempting to have the Baloch Liberation Army internationally proscribed as a terrorist organisation. Their latest initiative at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the UN Security Council was part of those efforts, aimed at associating the Baloch movement with religious extremism in order to secure international sanctions and weaken one of the leading organisations of the Baloch national struggle. Yet it remains a historical reality that the Baloch movement has never been connected with religious extremist groups. From its very foundation, the struggle for Baloch national liberation has been rooted in progressive thought, a fact that cannot be denied.
Despite the diplomatic setback at the UN, Pakistan and China are expected to continue pressing at international forums to link Baloch armed organisations with terrorism and seek sanctions against them. On the ground in Balochistan, however, neither diplomatic manoeuvres nor military operations have altered the situation. Armed groups fighting for independence continue to carry out large-scale attacks on Chinese economic and military projects, preventing China from advancing its investments and strategic initiatives to completion.
The recent suicide attack by the BLA’s Majeed Brigade on a Pakistan Army convoy in Dasht, Kech district, on the route of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and coinciding with the announcement of a Pakistan–Saudi Arabia defence agreement, served as a clear message. It underlined that decisions taken at international forums, whether diplomatic or defence-related, will not diminish the operational capacity of Baloch armed organisations.