The United States, the United Kingdom and France have blocked a joint attempt by Pakistan and China to add the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its suicide unit, the Majeed Brigade, to the UN 1267 terror sanctions list.

According to reports, the three Western countries placed a technical hold on the proposal, saying there was not enough evidence to prove links between the two groups and Al-Qaeda or ISIL.

Pakistan and China had asked the UN Security Council’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee to formally declare both outfits as terrorist organisations.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, raised the issue at a Security Council meeting on Afghanistan. He said, "Entities like ISIL-K, Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, East Turkistan Islamic Movement, the BLA and the Majeed Brigade have safe havens in Afghanistan, with over 60 camps serving as bases for cross-border operations."

He further added, "Pakistan and China have jointly requested the 1267 Sanctions Committee to list BLA and Majeed Brigade. We hope that the Council will move quickly on this listing to curb their terrorist activities."

Ahmed also stressed that the Taliban authorities must act on their international counterterrorism obligations. "Terrorism originating from Afghanistan continues to pose the most serious threat to Pakistan's national security," he said, according to PTI.

Pakistan is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the 15-member Security Council for 2025 26, while China holds a permanent seat with veto powers.

The Majeed Brigade, which emerged in 2011, is considered the BLA’s suicide wing and has largely targeted Pakistani security forces and Chinese projects.

The United States had already placed the BLA on its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist groups in 2019. Since then, the outfit has claimed responsibility for several more attacks, including those carried out by the Majeed Brigade.

Last month, Washington also classified both the BLA and the Majeed Brigade as Foreign Terrorist Organisations, treating the Majeed Brigade as an alias under the earlier designation.