New Delhi: After designating the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Majeed Brigade as Foreign Terrorist Organisations, the United States, on Tuesday, applauded Pakistan for its “continued success” in containing terrorist entities in the region and the world.
This comes a few days after India produced evidence that the three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 and later killed in an encounter with security forces, were Pakistanis, belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Two of these terrorists had served in the Pakistan Army as well. A few days after their deaths, a symbolic funeral for one of them was held in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to a joint statement released by both countries on Tuesday after the Pakistan-US Counter-Terrorism Dialogue held in Islamabad, the United States has expressed condolences for the loss of lives in terrorist incidents in Pakistan.
“The United States applauded Pakistan’s continued successes to contain terrorist entities that pose a threat to the peace and security of the region and the world,” the joint statement, shared by Pakistan’s foreign ministry, said.
“Furthermore, the United States expressed condolences for the loss of civilians and members of law enforcement agencies in terrorist incidents in Pakistan, including the barbaric Jaffar Express terrorist attack and the bombing of a school bus in Khuzdar,” it added.
Security experts believe that with these developments, things will get difficult for the BLA, which has been engaged in a decades-long insurgency against the Pakistan government, seeking independence for its natural resource-rich province.
Recently, after US president Donald Trump announced plans to jointly explore mineral and oil reserves in Pakistan, the BLA had raised a protest, claiming that the resources belong to the people of Balochistan and not Pakistan.
Now that the US has designated the BLA a terrorist organisation, Pakistan will use its entire military might, including the US-origin F-16 fighter aircraft, against the Balochis. Pakistan is also likely to seek more military aid from the US to fight terror and then use it against India, as it has done in the past.
On Sunday, Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir visited Washington for the second time since the four-day conflict with India. He met top US political and military leaders there.
