New Delhi: Intellectual Property Rights attorney and author Navroop Singh has claimed that the United States is moving toward gaining control over Balochistan, a resource-rich region it has reportedly monitored closely since the 1980s. According to Singh, this geopolitical shift could have far-reaching consequences for South Asia, including attempts to entangle both India and China in a regional conflict.
Singh’s remarks came in response to Washington’s recent decision to classify the Pakistan-based Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its faction, The Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). The U.S. State Department had earlier listed the BLA as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group in 2019.
“America is taking over Balochistan and they have had eyes on it since the 1980s,” Singh alleged, adding that the U.S. may seek to revive the long-delayed Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline project. He claimed that Washington’s strategy could involve derailing the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which he described as “dead,” and suggested that recent attacks on Chinese engineers and Pakistan’s Jaffar Express train may have been orchestrated to destabilize the region.
According to Singh, such incidents could be part of a broader plan to keep India occupied in a ground conflict while drawing China into the fray — a scenario that would allow Washington to gain strategic leverage over New Delhi. However, he said, this plan failed when India launched retaliatory strikes against Pakistan’s airbases.
The U.S. State Department, in its official statement, said the terrorist designation aims to disrupt the BLA’s ability to receive financial and logistical support. It noted that the group and its alias have been involved in multiple deadly attacks, including a suicide bombing near Karachi airport and an assault on the Gwadar Port Authority Complex in 2024.
In March 2025, the BLA claimed responsibility for hijacking the Jaffar Express train traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, resulting in 31 deaths and the hostage-taking of over 300 passengers.
Washington said the new designation reflects its continued commitment to combating terrorism globally, emphasizing that such measures are essential tools to limit extremist networks’ capabilities.
