Advisers to Pakistan’s Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have reportedly reached out to US officials with a proposal to develop and operate an Arabian Sea port.
US President Donald Trump during a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (not in pic) and Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House, in Washington DC,(PTI file)
The plan envisages American investors building and operating a terminal to access Pakistan‘s critical minerals in the town of Pasni, the Financial Times reported. Pasni is a port town in Gwadar district in the province of Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.
The proposal follows Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s September meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, where Sharif sought American investment in agriculture, technology, mining, and energy.
Sources told the newspaper that the offer was conveyed to some US officials and presented to Munir ahead of his discussions with Trump.
The plan rules out the use of the port for US military purposes and instead seeks development financing for a rail corridor connecting the terminal to mineral-rich provinces in western Pakistan, the report added.
Trump’s embrace of Pakistan in turn marks a shift after former US president Joe Biden kept the country at arm’s length, alarmed by Islamabad’s relationship with the Taliban during the two-decade US war in Afghanistan.
Shortly before the May conflict between India and Pakistan, a company run by the Trump family signed an agreement with Islamabad on cryptocurrency, AFP reported.
Pak PM and Army chief’s meeting with Trump at White House
Last month, Trump met with Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir at the White House, where they discussed regional security, counter-terrorism cooperation and other issues.
Shehbaz, the first Pakistani prime minister to visit the White House in six years, described Trump as a “man of peace” for his “sincere efforts” to end conflicts around the globe and lauded his “courageous and decisive” leadership in facilitating a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, according to a statement from the PM Office.
In July 2019, then-prime minister Imran Khan travelled to Washington and met President Trump, who had accused Pakistan of lying and deceiving the US while receiving billions in aid. Trump had previously said Pakistan offers a “safe haven” to terrorists.
Trump’s successor, President Joe Biden, had completely ignored Pakistan during his tenure and never even talked to any of the prime ministers on the phone, let alone inviting them to the White House.
However, since President Trump took office in January for a second term, there has been a dramatic and unexpected shift in the Pakistan-US relationship. In June, Trump held a rare one-on-one meeting with Army chief Munir at the White House.
Sharif invited American companies to invest in Pakistan’s agriculture, IT, mines and minerals and energy sectors, the statement added.
The two countries have reached a trade agreement that entails a 19 per cent tariff on Pakistani imports and will allow Washington to help develop Pakistan’s oil reserves.
The US goods and services trade with Pakistan totalled an estimated USD 10.1 billion in 2024, up 6.3 per cent (USD 523.0 million) from 2023.
The US’ total goods trade (exports plus imports) with Pakistan was an estimated USD 7.2 billion in 2024. US goods exports to Pakistan in 2024 were USD 2.1 billion, up 3.3 per cent (USD 67.2 million) from 2023.
The US goods imports from Pakistan in 2024 totalled USD 5.1 billion, up 4.8 per cent (USD 233.9 million) from 2023. The US goods trade deficit with Pakistan was USD 3 billion in 2024, a 5.9 per cent increase (USD 166.7 million) from 2023.
(With inputs from Reuters, AFP, PTI)