US blocks Pakistan-China bid to sanction Balochistan Liberation Army under UN 1267 regime

New Delhi: In a significant setback for Pakistan and China, the United States has officially blocked a Sino-Pak proposal to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Majeed Brigade under the UN 1267 terror sanctions regime, saying there is no evidence linking the outfits to Al Qaeda or ISIL.

Washington's decision carries an important political message as it signals alignment with India's position on terror, easing concerns about any tilt towards Pakistan on such matters. Designation under the 1267 Al Qaeda and ISIL regime was a key element of Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir's attempt to build a narrative portraying India as a sponsor of terrorism. Munir has already labelled Baloch groups as 'Fitna-al-Hindustan' within Pakistan.

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In the weeks following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, and after the US designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a foreign terrorist entity linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) last July, Rawalpindi lobbied hard through its newfound access to the Trump administration to persuade Washington to also proscribe the BLA and the Majeed Brigade. The US obliged within weeks and, buoyed by that success, Pakistan joined hands with China to push a proposal at the UN to designate the two entities as linked to Al Qaeda and ISIL.

India, however, with support from France, managed to get the US to place a 'technical hold' on the proposal as a permanent member of the UNSC - much like China has done with several Indian proposals to proscribe Pakistani terrorists - on the grounds that there was no clear linkage between the BLA and either Al Qaeda or ISIL. The hold was initially for six months and was later extended by another three months by the US.

ET has reliably learnt that the US has now firmed up its position and conveyed its decision to block the proposal as a permanent member of the Security Council. France and the UK, sources said, supported the US position, while Russia remained silent throughout the process, given its proximity to China.

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With the 1267 proposal now appearing to have reached a dead end, sources said Pakistan, which is currently a non-permanent member of the UNSC, is exploring other sanction lists under which the BLA and the Majeed Brigade could be designated.

The US decision also signals that Washington does not want to be seen as aligning with China's position on terrorism. Beijing has repeatedly blocked or delayed joint India-US proposals to sanction individuals linked to Pakistan-based terror groups LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Even now, three LeT terrorists - Sajid Mir, Shahid Mehmood and Talha Saeed - have not been designated under the 1267 regime because of China's hold.

Abdul Rauf Asghar, who was reportedly killed in India's strikes on Bahawalpur during Operation Sindoor, was also the subject of a joint India-US proposal in 2023 that was blocked by China through a technical hold.

In the present case, ET has reliably learnt that the US took the position that the UN 1267 regime is specifically meant for entities linked to Al Qaeda and ISIL, and that the BLA and the Majeed Brigade do not legally qualify for inclusion on that list.