ISLAMABAD: The United States and Pakistan have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation against militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Daesh-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), following high-level counterterrorism talks in Washington, according to a joint statement issued a day earlier.
In June this year, China-Pakistan had jointly submitted a proposal at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to list the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and its Majeed Brigade as global terrorist entities. The Austrlia, US and UK had already declared the BLA a terrorist outlet.
The fourth US-Pakistan Counterterrorism Dialogue came as Pakistan faces a renewed wave of militant violence, particularly in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southwestern province of Balochistan.
Islamabad has blamed much of the violence on the TTP, saying the group operates from sanctuaries in neighboring Afghanistan, an allegation repeatedly denied by the Taliban administration in Kabul. Separately, Balochistan has witnessed a surge in attacks by separatist militants, especially the BLA, targeting security forces, Chinese nationals and infrastructure linked to the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Security ties between Washington and Islamabad weakened after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, which ended two decades of cooperation focused on the war against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, however, both countries have sought to rebuild relations through greater engagement on counterterrorism, trade, investment and regional diplomacy. Pakistan has also played a role in facilitating recent indirect contacts between the United States and Iran.
“The United States and Pakistan affirmed their joint resolve to confront terrorist organizations that endanger the safety of their citizens and the stability of the region, including Daesh-Khorasan (ISIS-K), Al-Qa’ida (AQ), the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its affiliates,” the joint statement said.
“The two governments committed to ensuring their counterterrorism collaboration to keep both of their nations safe and secure, and as part of an enduring vision of regional peace, prosperity and stability.”
The dialogue was held in Washington on Tuesday and was co-chaired by US Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Gregory LoGerfo and Pakistan’s Special Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Nabeel Munir.
According to the statement, both sides reviewed the evolving regional threat landscape and discussed ways to expand intelligence sharing, strengthen border security and disrupt terrorist financing and facilitation networks.
The two delegations also discussed the threat posed by Daesh-Khorasan, the Afghanistan-based regional affiliate of Daesh, which has carried out several high-profile attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan and remains a major security concern for both countries.
Officials also reviewed the growing threat from the TTP, which Pakistan considers its most serious internal security challenge. Islamabad says the group has intensified attacks since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, as the group uses Afghan soil for attacks.
The BLA, also known as Fitna al Hindustan, is a designated terrorist group by certain countires including the US for increasingly targeting Pakistani security personnel, Chinese nationals, civilians, public and strategic infrastructure projects.
