Pakistan approaches US with offer to develop and manage Arabian sea port: Report

Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s advisers reached out to US officials with a proposal to develop and manage a port on the Arabian Sea, reported Financial Times on Friday.

The plan reportedly involves American investors constructing and operating a terminal in Pasni, a port town in Gwadar District, Balochistan province, an area bordering Afghanistan and Iran to facilitate access to Pakistan’s valuable mineral resources.

The proposal follows a meeting in September at the White House where Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with US President Donald Trump. During that meeting, Sharif reportedly sought investment from US companies across the agriculture, technology, mining, and energy sectors.

According to the Financial Times, the offer was presented to some US officials and was shared with Munir ahead of his recent meeting with Trump at the White House late last month. The plan specifically excludes the use of the port for US military bases, focusing instead on attracting development funding for a rail network that would connect the port to the mineral-rich western provinces, the report added.

What does the blueprint say?

“Pasni’s proximity to Iran and Central Asia enhances US options for trade and security . . . Engagement at Pasni would counterbalance Gwadar . . . and expand US influence in the Arabian Sea and Central Asia. China’s Gwadar investments under the Belt and Road Initiative raise dual-use concerns,” the blueprint stated, as per the newspaper, referencing US worries that Gwadar could function as a Chinese naval base, a claim denied by both Islamabad and Beijing.

Missouri-based company US Strategic Metals (USSM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s military engineering division in September to enhance cooperation, the report said.

Mike Hollomon, USSM’s commercial director, said the company aims to establish a refinery and recently met with directors of Pakistan’s two main ports near Karachi, as well as a Gwadar representative, during a visit to the country. Hollomon mentioned that USSM had heard discussions about a potential port project near Pasni. The town has a natural deep-water port and could be connected by rail to Reko Diq, a copper and gold mine being developed by Canada’s Barrick Mining, making it “a lot of sense” to build a facility in the area, he said, according to Financial Times.

Hollomon added, “In our conversations with the field marshal, he stressed that Pakistan has been an ally of the US for a long time and minerals is a way to rekindle a dormant friendship.”