Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, writes as both a politician and local voice, condemning the BLA for exploiting her province’s suffering.
The BLA does not represent Balochistan or its people; it weaponises the province’s extreme underdevelopment and multidimensional poverty (>70%) to recruit and radicalise youth (aged 15–25) through propaganda, isolation from families, and romanticisation of violence, turning them into suicide operatives for the Majeed Brigade.
Terrorist groups in Balochistan carried out 938 attacks in 2024 (53% increase), with fatalities surging 80% to over 1,002; the BLA alone claimed hundreds. Key example: March 2025 hijacking of the Jaffar Express, killing at least 31 and holding over 300 passengers hostage; Majeed Brigade executed six major suicide missions in a year using a resilient, decentralised model.
The BLA is portrayed as an organised terrorist enterprise (not a genuine grievance movement), with documented external sponsorship (including the Kulbhushan Jadhav case linking it to Indian intelligence) and growing tactical ties to TTP, making it a tool of regional destabilisation rather than local separatism.
It threatens US strategic/economic interests (Balochistan’s copper, gold, rare-earth minerals), CPEC infrastructure (tens of billions in investment), and South Asia’s broader connectivity; attacks on roads, ports, or pipelines harm global development.
The US, UK, and Australia have already designated the BLA and Majeed Brigade domestically (US issued full FTO status in 2025); however, the Pakistan-China proposal for UNSC 1267 listing was rejected on technical grounds (insufficient Al-Qaeda/ISIL linkage), which the author attributes partly to geopolitics (Indian influence) while urging Pakistan to strengthen evidence under the broader obligations of UNSC Resolution 1373.
Immediate 1267 designation is essential to cut funding, restrict leadership mobility, and remove implicit legitimacy; this must pair with governance reform, political inclusion, economic investment, and resolution of historical grievances to achieve lasting peace and protect Baloch youth.
This op-ed delivers a forceful appeal from a Baloch senator that separates legitimate provincial grievances from the BLA’s exploitative terrorism, arguing that targeted international designation is a necessary (though not sufficient) tool to safeguard lives and development while broader reforms address root causes.
