The U.S. on July 2 designated the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) as a terror organisation. In the seven decades of the Baloch movement, the BLA has survived the longest. The Baloch movement was influenced by the Soviet Union and radical Marxist ideology in the past and some of their leaders were trained by Moscow. Apart from BLA, the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), founded by Jumma Khan in 1964, is the other recognised armed militant organisation fighting for the cause of Baloch freedom. Almost all the leading figures of the militant Baloch leadership either live out of Pakistan or are in exile abroad.

Source: The Hindu July 03, 2019 15:02 UTC