–FO says it is important to hold perpetrators, organisers, and financiers of terrorism accountable
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday welcomed the United States’ decision to declare the separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a “global terrorist group”.
Following the US announcement, the Foreign Office issued a statement which said that “BLA remains a proscribed entity in Pakistan since 2006 and in recent times has carried out several terrorist attacks in the country”.
“It is hoped that this designation will ensure that BLA’s space to operate is minimized,” the statement read.
“It is important that the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and external sponsors including those glorifying these acts of terror against Pakistan are held accountable and brought to justice,” the statement further added.
In the past, the group’s actions have been dubbed as terrorism by the US Department of State and European Union too.
However, the new listing of BLA to SDGT has put sanctions on the funding and movement of the terrorists affiliated with the BLA which of late has targeted several Chinese installations and Chinese nationals working on projects linked to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
BLA rose to prominence during the summer of 2000 after it claimed credit for a series of bombing attacks on state authorities. It has been claimed that Brahumdagh Bugti, the son of former Balochistan chief minister late Akbar Bugti, is one of the founders of the BLA.
Since 2004, the BLA has been in a state of war against the state. It is operating mainly in Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, where it carries out attacks against the military.
BLA has often been accused of being an Indian proxy and receiving funding from Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), its spy agency, through Indian consulates in Afghanistan’s Kandahar and Jalalabad.
The funding was reportedly used for providing arms, training and financial aid to the terror outfit to execute terrorist activities in Pakistan.